


When the Sun Goes Down

by Staleinskii



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, Angst, Angst and Humor, Beaches, Blackmail, Class Differences, Corruption, Drama, Everyone Is Alive, Family Drama, Famous Derek Hale, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Hotels, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Jealous Derek, M/M, Minor Violence, Multi, Murder Mystery, Non-Graphic Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Partying, Past Character Death, Protective Derek, Recreational Drug Use, Rich Derek Hale, Romance, Secret Relationship, Sexual Tension, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Slow Burn, Sneaking Around, Summer Romance, Surfer Stiles Stilinski, Surfing, Top Derek, Top Derek Hale/Bottom Stiles Stilinski, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, this is not just a sappy romance i promise there’s some good twists too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:15:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 61,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23915908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Staleinskii/pseuds/Staleinskii
Summary: Derek Hale was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. For as long as he could remember, his family had run the famous Lunar Coast Hotel in Malibu, and it was the life set out for him. All he knew were galas, charity events, and smiling for the cameras to uphold the Hale reputation. Derek hates the toxic lifestyle of the wealthy elite, instead longing for something more.When he meets local surfer Stiles Stilinski, he's shown the life he's always wanted. As Derek dodges his family's disapproval, the corrupt media, and his mother's plans for him to take over the hotel, he falls for the local "scum" everyone in his social circle looks down on. Cue drama, diabolical plans, and sappy summer romance as secrets are revealed of what really goes on behind the scenes of the lives of Malibu's rich and famous.
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes
Comments: 48
Kudos: 236





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am very excited for this story, and I hope you are too! I will establish a consistent posting schedule, but I don't know how long this fic will be yet. What really motivates me is feedback, so please let me know what you think in the comments! All characters that are not my own belong to Teen Wolf and Jeff Davis. 
> 
> I have a disclaimer that I am not a pro surfer or have even been to Malibu, but I am going to try and keep this story as realistic as I can. A lot of things will be made up, so please be understanding of that. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, I have another completed story about superheroes and sterek so if you are interested check it out!

Derek grimaced as he adjusted the grey tie around his neck in the mirror. The wool of his navy blue suit was itching his neck, and his dress pants were a tad bit too tight in the no no zone. This was going to be a fun night.

“Derek! Mom said you better be ready in five minutes or she’s disowning you,” Laura’s loud voice came from the other side of his bedroom door. 

The man just rolled his eyes. “I’m already disowned from this family,” he called back and pulled on his black loafers to complete the look. Derek took one last look in the mirror before leaving. He was already sweating, a problem he knew would get worse throughout the evening. It was nearly 85 degrees outside, despite it being nighttime in California. The last thing he wanted to do was attend yet another hotel gala, plastering on a faux smile to shake hands with people whose names he never remembered, trying to be the golden boy for his mom’s sake. 

Derek opened his door right as Laura’s hand was positioned to knock again. He scoffed at her and pushed her aside, just muttering “Let’s go” as they made their way to the front door of the penthouse. Laura stumbled behind him as she held up her long red dress to avoid stepping on it. 

“Geez,” his sister said. “At least try and act like you’re looking forward to tonight. Free food, dancing, hey, maybe even some hot girls or guys?” She nudged his arm with her elbow and waggled her eyebrows. 

Derek felt like his eyes might fall out of his head by the end of the night with how much rolling they were doing. “I’m not looking for anyone,” he responded as they hopped on the elevator. His other sister, Cora, their mom, and their Uncle Peter were already at the gala in the hotel ballroom. Laura was always the message man to come fetch a disgruntled Derek from the darkness of his ‘cave’, as his mom calls his room. “Aren’t you sick of these?”

Laura shrugged and stepped off first when the elevator got to the lobby. “Like I said, free food.” 

It didn’t take long for hands to be outstretched and fake smiles to be flashed at the Hale siblings. It was all “Oh, Derek, you’ve grown up into such a handsome fella!”, and “Aren’t you excited to one day be the heir of this beautiful hotel?”. Smile and nod was all the 24 year-old bachelor did as he walked through the crowd in the ballroom. Smooth, classical music was heard from a band over the loud chatter of the hundreds of guests. Waiters walked around with platters held high of champagne flutes and hors d'oeuvres. Laura made sure to pop every single one in her mouth as they walked by. 

“Derek! Laura! There you two are,” Talia Hale came over and put her hands on the backs of her children to lead them over to a small group of people. “You remember Mr. and Mrs. Davenport, right? Of Davenport Wealth Management, our _top_ investors?” She sent them a pointed look to behave. 

“Oh, yes!” Laura flipped her switch of socialite and shook the couples hands. Derek followed in suit with a tight-lipped smile. “I am so happy you made it tonight.”

Derek tuned out the conversation as he looked around the room. Being the son and nephew of the two richest hotel owners in Malibu gives you a reputation. Derek’s life has been set out for him of galas, charity events, constantly looking the part of hotel heir, and basically only being able to socialize with the “wealthy elite” of California. He was born into it, as his grandfather had built the Lunar Coast Hotel and Spa from the ground up, then left it to Talia and Peter. Everytime Derek stepped out into the real world around him, he didn’t miss the whispers of “rich boy” and “stuck up prick” muttered around him. He wished people knew the real him. 

“Derek? Derek!” Talia snapped him out of his mind. He quickly apologized for zoning out. “As I was saying, the Davenports are here with their daughter Rebecca. You should go get to know her!”

“Oh, that’d be so wonderful!” Mrs. Davenport chimed in with her bubbly voice. “She was very nervous to come tonight because she doesn’t know a lot of people. She’s over there in the green dress!”

Derek knew he didn’t have a choice with the look his mother was giving him, so he smiled and nodded, then walked over in the direction of Mrs. Davenport’s pointing. Rebecca was a girl his age, maybe a few years younger, with beautiful golden hair down to her waist. The sparkling green dress hugged her body perfectly. Derek could appreciate a beautiful person, but he already knew he wasn’t going to like this conversation very much.

He cleared his throat, making the girl nearly spill her glass of champagne. “I’m sorry to surprise you,” he said genuinely. “My name is Derek Hale. Our parents are chatting over there together, so I thought I’d make your acquaintance.”

Rebecca blushed and allowed Derek to kiss her hand in greeting. “Oh, well the pleasure’s all mine. Rebecca Davenport, but you already knew that.” Her voice held an air of arrogance that made Derek’s blood boil, but he kept up the facade. “I’ve heard much about you Derek.”

“All good things, I hope?” he laughed to lighten the mood. If there was one thing Derek was good at, it was acting. 

“For the most part,” she giggled back. “Malibu’s most eligible bachelor. Mommy wants you to settle down soon in your social circle to be ready to take over the Lunar Coast. They definitely got the part about you being incredibly hot right, though.” Rebecca rested her free hand on Derek’s chest and batted her eyes. He knows exactly how this goes, because he’s done it before. He has to play the interested popular guy to the mean girl, or else she’ll go running to her daddy about how he was awful and they’ll threaten to pull out of business with his mom. So Derek patted her hand and flashed her his award winning smile.

“Guess the media really knows me, huh?” he gritted through his teeth. 

Rebecca laughed like he was the funniest person on the planet and stepped closer into his personal space. Her movement caused her to trip a passing waiter, though, who went flying and spilled a tray of food. The man groaned as his body hit the floor, but his cheeks turned red right away. All eyes around him were staring at the scene, the silence growing. 

Derek stepped back and dropped to his knees to help the guy. “Watch it help!” Rebecca hissed and stomped away. Derek ignored her brattiness and instead focused on the waiter covered in food. He could tell how embarrassed the guy was. 

“Are you okay?” Derek said and helped the guy to his feet.

The man nodded but wasn’t meeting Derek’s eyes, instead only staring at the floor. Some nearby waiters came over to start cleaning up the mess, while the socialites just shook their heads at the clumsiness of “the help”. Derek hated this life. 

“Hey,” Derek said and started to guide the waiter towards the bathrooms. “Let’s get you out of here.”

The guy didn’t say anything else until they made it into the safety of the men’s restroom. Luckily it was vacant to save him from more embarrassment, but Derek tried to make him feel as safe as possible. “I’m very sorry, sir,” was what he said to break the silence. “You don’t have to help me-”

“Oh shush,” Derek interrupted and gave him damp paper towels to start cleaning himself off. “Don’t apologize. It was her fault, and I want to help.” 

The waiter looked up at Derek for the first time, his eyes wide with shock. The man couldn’t help but stare back, stunned by the big brown eyes that held so much emotion. He cleared his throat and decided to help with the process, taking his own paper towel to the guy's shaggy brown hair to clean out a chunk of caviar. The guy laughed, and Derek decided it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. 

“You’re different from, well, everyone out there,” the employee said. “Most of them look at me as some pest buzzing around that they want to squish with a flyswatter. Not a great feeling.”

Derek shrugged. “No one is less than anyone else because of social status. I’ve seen every evil side of people growing up in this life. You were in need, so I wanted to help.”

“You…” the stranger treaded lightly. “You’re Derek Hale, like _the_ Derek Hale, dude. I mean Mr. Hale, sir! Your mom’s in charge of my paycheck, so you too kind of. Please don’t get me in trouble du-sir I didn’t mean to cause a scene I will pay for any damage and I...” He faded off. “I’ll shut up now.”

Derek laughed genuinely for the first time that night as they finished up. The guy’s dress shirt was stained with water spots, but clean at least. “Dude’s fine, if you want. But I prefer just Derek, and yeah, I’m him, but that’s nothing special. I’m just a regular guy.”

The waiter beamed. “Just a regular guy who wears a thousand dollar suit to a sparkly hotel gala with his rich and famous family?”

Derek sighed and looked down at his attire. “I didn’t choose the suit, or the life.”

He looked back up to lock eyes with the man again. They just sat in silence until the bathroom door swung open, causing both men to jump. “Derek, there you are!” Peter said. The man took one look at the waiter and scoffed in disgust at his appearance. “Clean yourself up and get back to work. We don’t pay you to hide out in the guest bathrooms.”

“Peter,” Derek started to defend the guy, but was stopped by him holding up his hand. 

“Your uncle is right,” the waiter said and fixed his bowtie. “My apologies Mr. Hale, it won’t happen again.” Without another word, he left the bathroom with his head hanging low. Derek watched the man leave, craving more time with him. 

Then he turned to glare at his uncle. Peter had always been around and had been a father figure to Derek when his dad passed away. Overtime, though, the man had shown his true colors. He was just another toxic businessman in the world of the rich. “You didn’t have to be so rude. I know it’s hard to believe, but people like him actually have feelings.” Derek pushed past his uncle to exit the bathroom. 

He couldn’t take this party anymore, instead just going back up to their penthouse. First, though, Derek couldn’t help but look around for the waiter. He hadn’t even gotten a name. After five minutes, though, there was no luck. He had disappeared into the party to get lost amongst cocktails and corruption.

“Derek! Where are you going?” Cora caught him right as he pushed the elevator button. Derek pinched his nose, not feeling like dealing with his little sister right now. 

“Upstairs, to be _alone_ ,” Derek sneered and hopped on the elevator. He tried to not let Cora’s hurt look affect him as the doors closed on her, then soon he was all alone again, just how he liked it. 

Derek spent the night drowning in movies and junk food while happily avoiding the dozens of calls and texts from his family and the horny DMs from Rebecca. She wanted him to meet her at her hotel room a floor down, as if he was that easy. Instead, Derek was perfectly content locking his bedroom door and turning on the flat screen. His balcony doors were slightly cracked, and the loud chatter of the gala guests on the outside patio made him purposefully slam them shut. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was halfway done when Laura nearly broke down his door with how hard she was trying to get in. Derek yelled at her, but opened it anyways. His big sister came skipping in and sat on his bed. Her gown was long gone, now replaced with a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. Her hair and makeup still looked perfect, though. 

“What,” Derek deadpanned. 

“We’re going to get ice cream.” Laura stood up, threw Derek his wallet resting on his bedside table, and grabbed his hand. 

“And why? Is the party over?” 

Laura shook her head. “Nearly, but it’s that time of the night where all the young adult children of Malibu’s finest sneak off to hook up and do drugs throughout our hotel while the adults are too hammered to notice. I’m pretty sure I saw Cora sneak into Penelope Harrington’s room with some pot.”

“Penelope Harrington as in the _senator’s_ daughter?”

“Yep,” Laura said. “But I just let her do what she wants, oh well. I’d rather take my super lame little brother to just go get some dessert that isn’t a $200 slice of cake the size of my thumb.”

Derek gladly followed his sister downstairs. Him and Laura had always been super close. She was the only one in his family who really understood his feelings about their lifestyle. Laura was always there for him when Talia basically locked Derek away to avoid ruining their reputation with his “crazy talk” of how toxic their social circle was. Don’t get him wrong, Derek loved his mom, but Peter had gotten to her in roping them into doing whatever it takes to become the rich Malibu hotel owners who hang out with the elite. Laura was the other normal Hale family member next to Derek, but the difference between them was she was more than happy to put on the clothes and makeup to please their mother. 

“We’re not just going to the snack shack near the pool?” Derek asked as they passed the outdoor pool entrance. Laura just shook her head and led them outside the front doors of the hotel. Many guests and employees stopped to say hello and suck up to the Hale siblings, and Laura of course smiled back. She was on a mission, though, and didn’t spill where they were going until they were across the street onto the boardwalk and headed down the main drag. 

Malibu’s nightlife was electric. It was probably 11 p.m., but no one cared. It was a saturday night in july, and everyone was out. Nearly every store and restaurant was open with bright flashing lights. Colorful kiosks lined the boardwalk with their employers trying to sell anything they could to some gullible tourists. Live music was almost every 100 feet, from just a man and his guitar, to a whole mariachi band, all trying to make a buck. Derek stepped out of the way just in time to avoid a gaggle of local skateboarders cruising down the wooden walkway. The ocean was dark in the distance, but he could hear the loud waves crashing and the dozens of night swimmers laughing. This was the life he loved. 

“Ricky’s?” he asked as they stopped in front of a small, lone, circular building resting on the sand right off the boardwalk. Derek couldn’t help the smile that came over his face. It was their favorite ice cream shop since they were kids. Their dad would always take them to the cute little cabana on the beach to spoil them with the dessert while their mom worked late in her office. Derek hadn’t been to Ricky’s in a while with how busy his family had been and how strict his mom was getting on him avoiding the events. 

“Well if it isn’t the Hale siblings! Do my eyes deceive me?” 

Derek and Laura couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces as they stepped up to the counter. ‘Old Man Rick’ as everyone called him was leaning over with an outstretched hand to shake theirs. He had run this ice cream stand for as long as Derek could remember, and it was still going strong with the long line growing behind them. 

“Rick!” Derek greeted him back. 

Rick was probably in his 60s and clearly an old surfing local. His wrinkly skin was still tanned from the sun, and there were a few wisps of blonde hair left on his head. Him and their father had been close friends with Matthew Hale giving Rick a loan long ago to get the ice cream stand started. Rick always said he meant to pay it off before Matthew died, and still insists he’ll give money to Talia. The Hales always refuse to accept though, more than happy for Rick to hold on to the cash as he needs it more than they do. 

“It’s been a while kids. The usual?” Laura and Derek nodded at Rick who got the ice cream started with his employees. “Where’s the youngest one, Cora innit?”

Laura rolled her eyes while she handed a debit card to Rick. “The hotel still, doing who knows what.”

“Ah,” Rick laughed and handed her a sugar cone with strawberry cheesecake and Derek a waffle cone with mint and double chocolate. Derek didn’t wait a second before diving in to eat his favorite treat. “She was always a wild one. The gala was tonight though, wasn’t it? Why aren’t you kids still getting your fancy on with the family?”

“You know us Rick,” Derek replied as Laura took back her card.

Rick gave them a big smile with his couple of missing teeth, but it was the most genuine smile in Malibu. “I sure do. Give your mother my best.”

“Will do,” Derek said as the Hale siblings thanked him and walked over to a nearby bench. They sat in silence, just eating their ice cream. The warm breeze tickled Derek’s skin. He licked up the drop of mint running down his cone and was soon popping the last bit of it into his mouth. Derek took in the lively environment around him, just loving the feeling of freedom he got from being outside of the hotel not in a suit or dress shirt. He was in shorts and a green t-shirt, and finally his body could breathe from being stuck inside of the ballroom. 

“Thank you for forcing me out of there,” Derek said to Laura, who just finished her ice cream as well. 

The eldest Hale sibling patted her brother on his leg with a sappy look. “Of course.” She took a deep breath as she threw away their napkins into the trashcan next to them. “Look D, I know you hate this all, but mom’s been working nonstop with Peter to run the hotel, and it’s taking a toll on her. With the Lunar Coast growing more popular, they’re working on expansions that have her asleep at 3 a.m. and awake at 6.”

Derek looked at his sister, narrowing his eyebrows in confusion. She was leading up to something. “What are you trying to tell me Laura?”

Laura faced forward and crossed her hands in her lap, clearly avoiding eye contact. “She wanted me to be the one to talk you through this, but...mom’s retiring soon.”

Derek’s eyes went wide in shock. “And…?” he asked nervously.

“And...well...you know I’m headed to Harvard in the fall for law school, and how reckless Cora is, being only 19…”

“Laura, spill,” Derek said, but couldn’t stop the shakiness in his voice. 

His sister sighed and took one of Derek’s hands. “She’s fast forwarded the process of giving the hotel to you to work with Peter. You’ll run the place alongside him.”

Derek shot up to his feet, brushing Laura’s hand away. He turned to her with an angry look in his eyes. “So that’s what this was all about?! Mom made you take me to my favorite ice cream shop, make me think everything’s perfect, only to do her dirty work of telling me ‘hey Derek, you know how much you hate living the life as a hotel heir? Well too bad! You’re going to be stuck in it forever!’”

“Derek calm down!” Laura said and stood up. She glared at the few pedestrians that stopped to stare at her brother’s outburst. 

She stepped forward towards Derek, but he only moved back with her movement. “Don’t tell me to calm down. She’s stripping away my freedom. I don’t want to run the stupid hotel, I never have and she knows that! I hate this life. She can’t control what I do, none of you can.” He turned around and headed down the boardwalk in the opposite direction of the hotel to get lost in the crowd. Derek ignored Laura calling his name, instead only focusing on getting as far away from her as possible. 

Derek made it maybe half a mile down when he stopped in the middle of the foot traffic. His head was spinning, the voices around him were muffled, and the only thing he wanted to do was scream. Instead, the man took a left and walked onto the sand and towards the ocean. 

When he was little, Derek’s father took him surfing almost every day. It was their time, no mom, no sisters, no hotel. Derek remembers the first time he stood up on his own. He was nine years old with his beginner board, and the pure bliss that consumed his body was so overwhelming. There was nothing but the spray of saltwater in his face, the ocean breeze, and the sound of his dad cheering him on. Derek hadn’t surfed since his dad died. That was eight years ago. 

Now, the cool water lapping around his toes as he stood on the shore reminded him of those days. Derek closed his eyes and took in the sound of the waves crashing. Sometimes he wished the ocean would just swallow him up. Derek wasn’t supposed to take over the hotel for at least ten more years, if he even did. By then, Cora would be ready and she loved their lifestyle way more than he did. Everything was put on fast forward, though, and now Derek had to plan the rest of his life in the same four walls of the penthouse he had grown up in. 

He stood on the beach for what felt like hours. The nightlife started to die down as it neared the early hours of the morning. He started the trek back to the hotel, ignoring the dozens of missed calls and texts on his phone. 

Derek entered through the hotel’s revolving doors into the familiar teal, gold, and white lobby. It was still fairly busy with guests checking in and hotel staff cleaning up. A few gala attendees were scattered here and there, too drunk to properly work the elevators. 

“Hey pretty boy! Where are you coming in from at this ungodly hour?” Erica Reyes, one of Derek’s best friends and the hotel bartender, called from the bar. He walked over and sat at a barstool to keep her company while she dried off glasses. 

“Hey Erica,” he sighed and leaned on one arm. “It’s just been a shitty night.”

The blonde pouted at her friend then dropped a clean shot glass in front of him, filling it with Lord knows what liquid. Erica poured one for herself too, then they clinked their glasses together before downing them. Derek grimaced as the liquid hit his throat, but it was exactly what he needed to end the night. “Thanks,” he croaked out. 

“Of course sweetie,” Erica said and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. “Luckily for me, the hotel hired another bartender to work the gala tonight. I was stuck out here with the tourists, but I would probably slam my head in the door before serving drinks to nothing but a bunch of ostentatious pricks who have their money shoved too far up their asses to give a damn about the rest of us. Not including your mother of course.” 

Derek laughed, having missed his friend. He met Erica when she first started working for the hotel a couple years ago, and he could always count on her to keep it real. “Tell me about it,” he groaned and accepted another shot from her. “The only highlight of my night was running off from Laura to wallow in my self-pity of having to run this money pit. Am I a bad son for thinking that?”

With Erica giving him more alcohol, Derek unwinded and spilled his problems to her. “I mean, do I have the right to complain? I’m taking over a hotel that has made my family rich, but I hate it! Erica I feel like a shitty person.”

“You’re not a shitty person,” she said. “Everyone knows the world of the rich is toxic and corrupt. You’re a realistic person who has his own desires, and one is to get away from this life.”

Derek pouted and let his head drop to the bar, ignoring the dull ache from the thud it made on contact. “I wish I could’ve just hid out in the bathroom with that hot waiter,” he slurred.

“Woah woah, what?!” Erica exclaimed and leaned over the bar to lift Derek’s head back up. He was too drunk to care. “Spill it moneybags.”

Derek giggled, something he never did when sober. “He was really cute E, like super cute. I helped him ‘cause he was dirty ha, not in the way I like it. He needed to be clean so I cleaned him and he had these pretty eyes but I don’t even know his name! How did I not get the name of him like where is he I want to see him.”

“You’re cute,” Erica said. “But wow, is Derek Hale actually showing interest in someone? And you said he was a waiter, meaning he works here, or at least for the catering company. He’ll show up again if it’s meant to be.” She wiggled her eyebrows and snatched the bottle of tequila on the bar before Derek’s grabby hands could get to it. “Now I’m cutting you off. Let me finish up here and I’ll get you upstairs.”

She kept her promise, and ten minutes later Derek was being set down on his living room couch by Erica, a very angry Talia standing to the side with her arms crossed. 

“Thank you Erica, I’ll take care of him from here,” his mother said. Erica nodded and gave Derek a look of good luck then exited the penthouse. “You can’t just go off and disappear Derek without answering your phone! And now I have you being carried upstairs because you’re too drunk? God! What if someone saw you and took pictures!”

Derek couldn’t help the loud laugh that escaped his lips. “Of courseeee,” he drew out. “Not ‘wow I’m so happy you made it home safe’, but instead ‘how dare you threaten our reputation my delinquent son’. Good to see you too mom.”

“Oh stop,” Talia said and got her son a glass of water. He downed it in seconds, already dreading the pounding headache he was going to have in the morning. “You know I was worried for you and I’m very happy you’re home safe. Laura told me about your conversation, and we can discuss it in the morning. Just know that I’m not the enemy Derek.”

Derek stumbled to his feet, catching himself as he almost fell over. He headed down the hallway towards his room. “Really mom?” he yelled back at her. “Last time I checked you’re the one stripping away my freedom and telling me how to live my life!” He didn’t let her finish, instead just slamming his bedroom door, not caring who he woke up. Derek took four steps before flinging his body onto the big mattress, falling asleep in seconds.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning was peaceful with the open balcony doors allowing the sounds of early birds and the ocean crashing to echo in Derek’s room. As he slowly opened his eyes, he almost forgot about the night he had endured. That was impossible, though, thanks to his pounding headache. With a loud groan, Derek sat up and clumsily grabbed the glass of water on his bedside table and a few Advil in the drawer. He stumbled to his balcony and stood outside, allowing the warm air to ease his pain. 

It was about 9 a.m., an hour later than he usually wakes up, but he needed the sleep. The boardwalk and beach below the hotel were buzzing as usual with tourists rushing their families onto the sand to secure the best spot for the day. One thing Derek never took for granted was the amazing view and location of his home. The hotel was built almost directly on the beach, with only the pools and cabanas separating the building from the sand. The boardwalk merged into the elaborate wooden walkways of the hotel’s landscape, with a small gate and a guard filtering out guest from random pedestrian trying to sneak in to use the facilities. There were steps that went off of the beach bar directly onto the sand with hotel employees offering free chairs and umbrellas to members staying there. Being on the highest floor allowed Derek’s family to oversee the grounds while offering the best views in this part of Malibu. Derek was the luckiest along with his mother to have an unobstructed ocean view, as his sisters had to crane their necks a bit. Peter was smart in securing his own suite a floor down to have every view to himself. 

Derek dreaded facing his family that morning, but left his bedroom anyways thanks to the smell of bacon wafting in under his door. Talia always knew how to draw him out. Laura and Cora were already munching on chocolate chip pancakes and fruit at their large dining room table. The server’s window connecting to the kitchen framed his mother hunched over a sizzling pan of bacon. People often asked Derek if his family lived with butlers and personal chefs to do their dirty work, but Talia liked being a mom. It was a little taste of normal, her cooking her children her own meals, putting a little bit of love into each dish. They did have the hotel maids to clean up for them, but meals together were always a big tradition in the Hale household. 

“Good morning loser,” Cora said. She was the only one who seemed to not sense the tension in the air, with Laura obviously avoiding making eye contact with her brother. Derek ruffled Cora’s hair and sat down next to her, grabbing two large pancakes from the top of the pile. It only took two minutes though for Cora to stand up and slip on her shoes. 

“And where are you going so early?” Talia questioned as she set down a platter of hot bacon in the middle of the table. Laura and Derek both reached for it at the same time, grabbing the same piece. Laura jumped back immediately, looking guilty for invading on Derek’s bacon. He just rolled his eyes and grabbed it. 

“Um…” Cora stalled as she thought of a lie. “Just want to go meet some people by the pool.” That was usually code word for ‘smoke weed with the rich kids on the beach’. Talia seemed to know that too, just giving her daughter a disappointed look but knowing she wouldn’t be able to stop her. 

“Be back by five tonight, okay?” their mother said. “Don’t forget we’re all having dinner with the Davenports.” Cora nodded and slipped out the door, Peter coming through it the opposite way. 

Derek nearly spit out his orange juice. “What?!” he exclaimed, having only heard these news now. 

“Well good morning to you too, nephew,” Peter remarked and sat down next to Laura, taking the last two pieces of bacon. 

“You heard me, Derek,” Talia said and took her own seat at the head of the table. 

Derek still gaped at her. He had woken up to even more desperate messages from Rebecca he didn’t bother reading. It seemed as if the five minutes they spent together told the socialite that he was interested, which he definitely was not. “I will not be attending.”

“Oh, you most certainly will!” Talia laughed. “Peter, it is important for all of us to be there, correct?”

Peter wiped his mouth with a napkin and nodded. “Absolutely,” he said through a bite of bacon. Laura grimaced. “The Davenports requested it. They especially want you, Derek, to get to know the upcoming manager.” His uncle smiled big at his nephew and ripped off another piece of bacon with his teeth. Peter always wore a cocky grin that made it seem like he was unaffected by anything anyone could say to him. Derek hated it. 

Derek didn’t say anything, just glared at his family and got to his feet, ignoring Talia’s calls once again. He shut his bedroom door and quickly changed into a blue tank top and running shorts. There was still a dull ache in his head, so he quickly downed the last of his water and popped another Advil before slipping on his running shoes. 

Five minutes later, Derek was stepping onto the boardwalk for his daily workout. The weather was perfect for a run, which many people thought so too with the amount of exercising going on around him. Fortunately, the boardwalk was extensively wide to allow for a lot of foot traffic, bikes, skateboards, and scooters to weave around each other. It wasn’t as busy as it would get around noon, which Derek enjoyed. He headed off after hitting play on his phone to allow his running playlist to sound in his ear buds. 

Derek knew he was an attractive guy. He worked out nearly every day, and he could proudly say he was muscular and fit because of how hard he had worked to achieve it. Eyes followed him a lot of places he went, and not just because he was one of the most well-known names in Malibu. Women ranging from teenagers to middle-aged wives gave him flirtatious looks, especially when he was shirtless. Ten minutes into his run, Derek stripped off his shirt and tied it around his leg, and he didn’t miss the looks he got from both girls and guys as sweat dripped down his smooth skin. There were even some cat calls here and there. 

Since he was about 15 years-old, Derek knew he was bisexual. He had had a couple girlfriends and enjoyed kissing them and truly felt things for them, but then he started noticing how cute this one guy was in his class. Derek knew the signs of a crush, and was so scared to be feeling them towards a boy. When he came to Laura with his worries, though, she reassured him that it was perfectly normal and no one would look at him differently. Luckily, his family was overwhelmingly supportive, even Peter, and loved the one boyfriend he had had during his freshman year of college. That changed when the man cheated on Derek with their fraternity president, but that's another story. 

After 30 minutes of going back and forth along the boardwalk, Derek stopped for a break. He had slipped his wallet into his pocket, and reached for it as he walked up to a snack bar on the beach. The small building was made of wood with a straw roof, the stereotypical surf shack. Colorful surfboards were painted on the sides with a faded sign hanging above the open counter reading ‘Mama’s Shack: Surfing and Smoothies’. 

“Hey! How may I help you?” a cute redhead greeted him as he approached the window. She was dressed in a teal bikini top and white shorts, her long hair pulled into a side braid with a yellow flower in her hair. Behind her was a wall with some surfboards mounted, as well as a few stand up paddleboards on the floor. To the side of the inside of the small shack were the actual snacks. A counter was lined with a blender, slushie machines, and a rotating hot dog heater. Shelves, a fridge, and a freezer rested under the counter, holding the rest of the snacks offered on the small menu right in front of Derek. 

“I’ll just take a frozen lemonade, please,” Derek said with a smile and handed the girl his card. She looked at it briefly, then narrowed her eyes before looking back up at Derek. 

“Derek Hale, huh?” she asked, but it seemed more interrogative than questionable. 

Derek felt like he was being judged for his name, but nodded. The employee just shrugged and rang him up. She handed back his card before turning around to get the lemonade. Derek waited there patiently, and during that time a guy walked through the door of the shack and set a surfboard down on the ground. “Hey Lydia,” he greeted the redhead and shook out his wet hair. 

“Scott!” the girl, named Lydia, Derek assumed, shrieked. “What did I say about getting water in here? Dry off outside, you know, in the _sun_?”

The man, Scott, just smiled mischievously and shook out his hair again before stepping outside and around the shack towards Derek. “You surf?” Derek couldn’t help but ask. Scott looked up at him, seemingly surprised to see a customer outside of a snack bar. “Sorry, couldn’t help but notice the longboard. It’s a nice one.”

Scott gave him a friendly smile. “Yeah! She’s a beaut. Been shredding my whole life. Was hitting some cranking waves when some benny ate it into the impact zone. It was comical, dude.” Derek just laughed and nodded, having lost most of his understanding of surfer lingo after quitting the sport long ago. 

“Frozen lemonade for Mr. _Hale_ ,” Lydia practically spat out Derek’s name as she handed him his drink. He tried to not let it affect him as he thanked her and took it. He turned back to see Scott staring at him, shocked.

“Oh…” the guy started. “You’re Derek Hale.” He said it with as much disdain as Lydia. 

“Um, yeah,” Derek said sheepishly. He knew the reputation his family had with the local surf crowd. There was a clear separation in the moneybags and the beach bums, as people called them. No one ever crossed social circles, or rarely did. There was always ocean rivalries going on to catch the best waves, another reason why Derek stayed away from the sport and hated his lifestyle. “Thanks for the lemonade,” Derek said before walking away. He didn’t feel like being judged more by people who didn’t know him. 

Derek just sat in an open area on the sand, far enough away from the nearest kids to avoid being sprayed with sand and saltwater. The ocean tide rose, only barely avoiding soaking his toes, so he scooted a bit closer. He let the hot sun tan his bare skin, basking in the natural light. His lemonade was melting fast, so he drank it rather quickly. It was a bummer Lydia hates him so much, because that was one good lemonade he wouldn’t mind getting again some time. 

To the left of where he was sitting were the surfers. Tourists and locals alike both knew enough to not swim in the surf zone in order to avoid the nose of a board to the face. Moms often had to chase after their toddlers venturing towards the athletes. Once you were in the zone, surfers had no sympathy for those caught in the crossfire. All they were focused on was catching the best wave. 

Derek watched them in awe. It was clear who were the beginners learning with instructors by their sides and who had been surfing their whole life. A teenage girl got up on her board for two seconds before hitting the water with a splash, allowing the current to drag her into the shore. 

The next person to grab a wave was definitely an expert. The guy stood up with ease, moving his board back and forth as he rode the wave in, even throwing in a slight turn that only someone with complete control could execute so flawlessly. He hollered in excitement as he threw his body into the water once the wave died out. Even people on the beach near Derek applauded the man, just knowing that was impressive.

The man waved to them in thanks as he strolled out of the water in his wetsuit, board in hand. He shook his hair like a damn movie, brushing it to the side as he high fived what seemed to be his group of friends. It was when he was close enough for Derek to see his face that Derek nearly choked on the last bit of his lemonade. It was the waiter from the gala, the same one who allowed Derek to clean chunks of food out of his hair. 

The man looked over and locked eyes with Derek, showing the same amount of shock on his face. They both just froze and looked at each other, the waiter’s friends trying to get him back in the water. Derek saw him mouth something that looked like ‘give me a sec’, then he was walking straight towards him. Luckily the sun already tinted Derek’s cheeks pink to hide the growing blush. 

The guy was even hotter in a wetsuit with his hair wet and flopped over his face. He brushed it out of his hair as he stuck the tail of his board into the ground. “Hey!” he called. “Sorry to interrupt you if you’re doing anything, but um, I was that waiter guy from the gala who kind of made the biggest fool of myself and made you rescue me like a damsel in distress and I just wanted to apologize and you probably don’t even remember me-”

“Hey,” Derek interrupted him with a smile. The guy let out a shaky smile back and looked down. “I remember you, and I was more than happy to help.”

“Thank you,” the surfer said and stuck out a hand to shake Derek’s. He wasn’t thinking, though, and stuck out the hand that was holding his surfboard upright. The board started to topple, and the guy went diving after it, getting his foot caught in the surfboard leash around his ankle and falling down with the board instead. “Shit. I promise I’m not usually this clumsy.” He brushed off the sand sticking to his wetsuit as he got over to sit on his butt. “Well, I kind of am.”

Derek couldn’t help but laugh. The stranger was awkward and all flailing limbs, but he was also charming and adorable. “You didn’t look so clumsy out there,” Derek said and motioned to the ocean. “That was amazing.”

The surfer blushed and looked out into the water too. “Thank you!,” he said. “I don’t know, I just feel one with the water, like I can trust it to keep me upright. I guess I don’t have the same relationship with land.” He looked down and noticed the empty cup sitting next to Derek. “Mama’s, huh? So you met Lydia.”

Derek picked up the cup and nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think she likes me, though, Derek Hale.”

The man rolled his eyes and looked up at the surf shack in the distance. “She’s hard to please. She thinks all moneybags are the same stuck up pricks who look down on us. Lyds all save the turtles and that shit, ya know. Don’t take it personally.”

“Well Scott didn’t seem too keen, either,” Derek pointed out. He didn’t want to bash the guy’s friends, but just told it as it was. 

“Yeah, sorry about that. He’s sorta the same way,” the man said. “I’m Stiles, by the way. I realized I know your name, but you never knew mine.”

Derek couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Stiles, I like that,” he said. Now he didn’t have to refer to the man as ‘hot waiter guy’. “You told me I was different from everyone else at the gala. You’re different from the other beach bums.”

Stiles smiled back and shrugged. “I guess I share similar opinions to you. We’re all people, and I don’t know everyone’s backstory. Yeah, a lot of the rich have hated me and my family, but you proved me wrong that everyone’s like that. After your first impressions with Scotty and Lyds, I guess I want to do the same to you.”

They sat in silence for a couple seconds. Derek appreciated Stiles, appreciated someone outside of his social circle who didn’t treat him like he could hire an assassin on them at any second. “I guess we’re both tired of the drama,” he laughed. “I’m sure your friends won’t be too happy to see you talking to me over here, though.”

Stiles shrugged. “Meh, who gives a shit. I do have to get back to the waves, though. They don’t judge me for anything.” He hopped to his feet and grabbed his board, this time being extra careful to keep it upright. 

“How poetic,” Derek teased. He loved the way it made Stiles’s big brown eyes crinkle from his smile. 

“I’ll probably run into you again Derek Hale,” the surfer said as he backed away. “If you need me, I’m usually in the ocean.”

“Good to know,” Derek called back as Stiles waved and ran back towards the water. He watched in admiration as the guy lept onto his stomach and paddled out to meet his group of friends offshore. Derek already missed Stiles’s company and couldn’t wait to see the guy again. He thought it’d be pretty easy to ask around for him with Stiles being a very unique name. The only problem was, however, that anyone who was friends with Stiles would probably throw themselves off a cliff than help out a moneybag.

Derek headed back to the hotel, hoping to catch Erica on her break so they could chill by the pool. He needed to vent about his family, this dinner with the Davenports he was dreading, and Stiles. She would definitely want to hear about Stiles. 

It was a quick jog back to the Lunar Coast, and minutes later Derek was walking into the penthouse to take a shower. He untied the shirt from his leg and threw it on the back of a chair. His family seemed to be gone, with no body or sound suggesting otherwise. Derek thanked whatever God above that he didn’t have to see them yet. 

Whistling some made up tune, Derek headed down the hall to his en suite bathroom. He stripped off his shorts and underwear and reached out to open the door. As soon as it opened though, he was met face to face with a strange guy he had never seen before. Derek yelled at the same time as the stranger and reached for his shorts to cover his very naked and exposed body. “Holy shit!” Derek exclaimed. “Who the hell are you?!”

“Who the hell are you?!” the guy repeated. He had a towel draped around his waist, _Derek’s_ towel. 

Derek stared, just stunned at the events. “What? This is my room! My bathroom! Get the hell out!”

“Derek!” Cora came running into Derek’s bedroom with fear in her eyes. “Shit, um...Derek, meet Tyler.”

There was still nothing but running shorts covering the older Hale sibling. Cora was dressed in only a towel, too. Derek looked between her and _Tyler_ in confusion and disgust. “Cora!” he exclaimed. “Care to explain why there’s some stranger in my bathroom?!”

“Well…” his sister said in a high pitched voice, clearly embarrassed. “Mom and Laura went shopping, and I didn’t think you’d be back for a while, so I invited Tyler over. And, well, I told him he could shower in your bathroom because it has a bigger shower.”

“For both of us,” Tyler said with a disgusting smirk. Derek sent him a murderous look, silently threatening to rip the guy’s throat out if he said another word. Tyler seemed to get the message, shutting up immediately and looking at the ground. 

“I don’t care who you decide to do...whatever you want with, but just not in _my room_! You,” he pointed at Tyler, “get out of here before I shove your face into my knee.” Tyler nodded and gathered his clothes, running out of the room. Derek waited to hear the slam of the penthouse door before turning to Cora. “Please don’t have sex in my room, can that at least be the one rule of living together?” Cora nodded, a guilty look on her face. Derek narrowed his eyes. “You haven’t done it before...right?”

His sister refused to look at him. “Mhmm,” she squeaked out. 

Derek’s eyes went wide and he groaned. “Gross! Get out of my room!” he shoved her out and locked the door behind her, trying to burn the images out of his mind. Derek physically shivered as he dropped the shorts and fetched a clean towel. He took the fastest shower of his life to clean off the day’s run, wanting to get back out of the suite and downstairs. 

He met Erica by the pool. She was already lounging in a cheetah print bikini, big sunglasses perched on her eyes and a Bud Light in hand. “Hey hot stuff,” she greeted him. Derek ordered a beer, too, from a waiter and joined her in the cabana. He laid back and sighed in relaxation as he took in the views of the pool and beach in the distance. “You said you had some news?”

Derek thanked the man handing him his beer and nearly downed half of it in his first sip. “Do I,” he started. “Where do I begin? With how my family is ruining my life, or how I met super hot waiter guy again?”

Erica sat up and gaped at her friend. “Both sound incredibly juicy, but let’s start with family to get it out of the way. ‘Cause you know how much I want to hear about the waiter! Make me wait for it.”

Derek laughed and sat up with her. He looked around to make sure none of his family or nosy acquaintances were around to eavesdrop on his complaints. “My mom’s making me take over the hotel soon, like _really_ soon, E. She knows it’s not what I want, but she needs to retire soon apparently, and doesn’t trust Peter to do it on his own.”

“Understandably.”

Derek laughed before continuing. “She sent Laura to fatten me up with ice cream and compliments before breaking the news. I just feel betrayed by them, by everyone, even Cora because she apparently has had sex in my shower.”

Erica choked on her beer. “Gross! That’s for another day.” She rested a hand on Derek’s thigh, her long painted manicure gripping his swim trunks. “I’m sorry babe. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling. Can you reason with your mom at all to hold it off?”

Derek shook his head and took another sip. “Not really, you know her. Once her mind’s set on something she doesn’t back down.” He sighed. “Whatever, we’ll talk about it another time, just had to vent. Now to Stiles-”

“Stiles, hm?” Erica interrupted excitedly. “That his name? Ooh you better spill every single dirty detail Derek Hale and don’t you leave out anything!”

Derek didn’t. He told Erica about his day on the beach, of his interactions with Scott and Lydia and seeing Stiles surf, of how the guy made him feel despite being strangers. He couldn’t get the shaggy brown hair and button nose out of his mind, and he barely even knew the guy.

“Wow,” Erica said after Derek was done. “Sounds like modern day Romeo and Juliet.”

Derek laughed and shoved his friend lightly. “Stop. There’s no romance there. The guy’s just really attractive, but probably very straight, too. I don’t know, I just enjoy his company, though. Is that weird? After only talking to him twice?”

The blonde shook her head and ordered another beer as the waiter passed by. “Not at all! That’s _normal_ Derek. I know you haven’t been interested in anyone in like, a million years, but welcome back to the world of romance! You, my friend, have a little crush.”

“I…” he started. “I guess I do.”


	3. Chapter 3

To say Derek was dreading dinner with the Davenports would be an understatement. Rebecca kept texting him pictures of her outfit and saying how excited she was to see him after threatening one of the staff members Derek knew well to give her his phone number. They were eating in one of the many hotel restaurants, this one being outside overlooking the water. Talia thanked the hostess that brought them to their reserved table, and all the Hales sat down in their usual spots, while leaving 3 open seats in strategic positions. Derek begged Laura to sit next to him so he was sandwiched between her and Peter, leaving Rebecca’s spot across him next to Cora. 

“Be on your best behavior,” Talia said to her children, but Derek could tell the look was mainly pointed at him. 

“Talia! Peter!” Mr. Davenport greeted them once they arrived. Derek’s mom and uncle stood up to shake hands and cheek kiss the couple. Rebecca just gave a tight-lipped smile, then eagerly sat down across from Derek and winked at him. 

“Hi Derek,” she giggled and waved. Cora’s eyes almost popped out from the huge eye roll she showcased. Derek just nodded his head and hid his face behind his menu. 

Over the quiet music coming through outdoor speakers, Derek could hear the ocean in the distance. There were some hollers and yells from people on the beach, but the sun was too low for him to make out anybody’s features. There was the silhouette of surfers, though, and Derek wondered if one of them was Stiles. 

Laura’s sharp elbow brought him back to the table, and he glared at her before she pointed towards the adult’s end. “Sorry, what?” he asked his mother, who looked annoyed that he had missed their question. 

“Mr. Davenport here was just asking how you are feeling about taking over the hotel?” Talia gave him a pointed look to give the man the answer he wanted. 

“Oh, I can’t wait,” Derek gritted out through a faux smile. “I’ve grown up with it, and I wouldn’t want anything more than to take over for my mother.” The answer seemed to satisfy the Davenports, who smiled then turned back to Talia and Peter.

Cora and Laura were invested in their own conversation about shoes, so Derek occupied himself with the menu once again. He could feel Rebecca’s heavy stare on him, and he was almost able to ignore her until he felt something brush against his ankle, then travel upwards toward his knee. Derek looked up to see the heiress giving him a seductive look as she attempted to play footsie. The man looked around to see none of their families paying attention. Rebecca seemed to notice too, so she kept going, but once her foot reached his inner thigh Derek shot up. Everyone jumped and conversations went quiet when his abrupt movement caused silverware to clatter.

“Excuse me,” Derek said and fixed his blazer button absentmindedly. “I have to use the restroom.”

He quickly scurried off into the hotel, almost knocking the door off its hinges of the nearest restroom. Derek just needed to get away from Rebecca in a place he knew she wouldn’t be able to follow him. He didn’t want to do this, didn’t want to pretend to be interested for her sake. Leaning over the sink, Derek splashed some water in his face as the door opened and another man entered. He didn’t look up until said man was saying his name. 

Stiles was standing behind Derek, face looking like a deer caught in the headlights. He was dressed in a similar waiter’s uniform to the night before, except much cleaner. “What are you doing in here?” Stiles broke the silence. 

Derek turned around, just as stunned. “I…” he started. “This is my family’s hotel.”

“But this is the employee restroom,” Stiles laughed. “Get lost on your way to the gold plated toilets down the hall?”

Derek rolled his eyes fondly and looked Stiles up and down. “You’re working tonight again?”

Stiles shrugged and took in his own appearance. “Yeah, but I don’t work here.”

Derek narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Um...what?”

The laugh that escaped Stiles’s mouth was like music to his ears. “My friend Jackson works here, well if you can even call him my friend. He started a week ago and already decided to take a weekend long trip to LA, so cue me pretending to be him for two days so he still makes money, which I _am_ getting a cut of for this, and trying to be a waiter. Thank heavens my shift ends at 9 and I don’t have to serve any of these moneybags again.”

“So,” Derek said. “You’re not usually here?” He was slightly disappointed. Having run into Stiles in the hotel twice now made him hope a third would be in their future, but perhaps not if the guy was leaving the job after tonight. 

Stiles shook his head. “Sorry, but no. Not really my scene if you catch my drift. I have a job at Mama’s.”

“The snack shack that Lydia works at?” 

“The _surfing_ and snack shack,” Stiles pointed out. “But the shack on the beach is for running lessons out of and, of course, selling food. I work in the main building on the boardwalk, selling surf gear, making boards, all that shit.”

Derek officially decided Stiles was the coolest guy he had ever met. He was living his dream life, though Derek made sure not to take for granted what his family has given him. He was eternally thankful, but he longed for the adventure in Stiles’s life too. “That’s so cool.”

“Thanks,” Stiles ducked his head with a smile. “Now I’m really sorry dude, but I have to really piss.”

“Oh, oh yeah,” Derek laughed. “I should probably get back to dinner. It...it was nice to see you again, Stiles.”

The waiter gave Derek a big grin. “You too, Derek.”

Derek left the bathroom feeling a lot better. Stiles just had that effect on him even though they had just met. He debated waiting outside to catch him again, but knew his family would be mad if he was any later coming back to the table than he already was. Derek smoothed out his tie and took a deep breath before venturing out onto the patio again. The adults were laughing and chatting animatedly about whatever was interesting about hotel management and investing, and Laura looked like she was ten seconds from ripping her hair out listening to Rebecca ramble on at her and Cora. 

“Derek, I’m glad you’re back,” Talia said. Her son sat down, a large ceasar salad waiting for him as an appetizer. 

The night went on with seductive looks from Rebecca, awkward questions Derek had to answer to the Davenports, and his sisters shoveling down all of their food to avoid talking. Derek was mentally exhausted by the end and more than happy to shake hands with the Davenports and bid them goodnight. 

He managed to escape to the bar again before Rebecca could see. It was busier than last night, considering it was only 8:30 and not nearly two in the morning. Every person was trying to talk over the next, so Derek could barely hear himself think. He managed to snag the last open seat at the bar. Within a minute, a drink was plopped down in front of him by a hand attached to a familiar blonde head of hair. “We’re not repeating last night,” Erica said and pointed at him. “How was dinner?”

Derek rolled his eyes and took a sip. “Painful,” he said. Erica gave him a pitiful look as she prepared a long row of drinks. Fortunately, she had the help of another bartender on the other end of the bar. “But...I saw Stiles again.”

Her face lit up. “No way,” Erica exclaimed. “Okay it’s definitely fate now.”

“Hey Barbie! I’ve been waiting on a refill for like 30 minutes here!” a stranger called a couple seats down from Derek.

Erica rolled her eyes, used to the treatment from tourists. “It’s been two minutes honey, but here ya go.” She refilled the man’s drink through gritted teeth. Derek watched the rude man’s eyes fall to Erica’s chest as she leaned over a bit. Her tight shirt was pretty low cut, but it was no excuse and made Derek’s blood boil how the guy could be so pervy and rude at the same time. 

“Thanks babe,” the guy said and reached out a hand to quickly grab Erica’s chest. She was caught off guard, spilling a bottle of vodka as she shot back.

Derek was livid. He stood up and walked over to the man, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and hoisting him out of his chair. “Alright buddy,” Derek said. “See what we’re _not_ gonna do is think that you have the right to grope any woman without their consent after being an impatient asshole. You’re going to apologize to the bartender here then go pack up your bags to find another hotel to stay in.”

The guy spat in Derek’s face. People had gathered around to watch the commotion now, and loud “ooh”s were heard from around the room. Derek was about the same height as the guy, but twice his size thanks to his muscle. “Fuck off,” the pervert said as he struggled to escape Derek’s grip.

Derek laughed for a second before delivering a hard right hook to the man’s face, sending him tumbling to the ground in pain. “Derek!” Erica called out, but he didn’t care. The man yelled as he threw his body back at Derek, now causing both of them to fall to the floor. Derek easily got the upperhand as the drunk crowd hollered and took out their phones to record the fight. He sat over the man and sent punch after punch to the guy’s face, only seeing red as he protected his friend. 

Erica had come out from behind the bar and was yelling at Derek to get off. He didn’t listen until she physically grabbed him to push him off of the stranger. Derek fell to the side and sat up as Erica crouched down next to him. “Are you crazy?!” she yelled. The man he fought was groaning in pain with blood dripping out of his nose. One of his friends was helping him up and out of the bar. 

Derek was panting. He looked down at the blood on his hand, then around at the crowd. Erica quickly got him to his feet and away from the prying eyes and cameras. They made it into a family restroom, where Derek shrugged off his blazer and ran his hands under the sink faucet. 

Erica rubbed his shoulder from behind, tears in her eyes. “Derek, you didn’t have to do that.”

“He…” Derek got out. “He grabbed you. I wasn’t going to let sexual assault get away, not in my hotel.”

The blonde sighed and hugged her best friend. Derek relaxed in Erica’s arms, the tension from the fight easing away. “What’s gotten into you moneybags?” she asked, concerned.

Derek held on a little tighter and couldn’t help but bury his head into the crook of her neck. Erica could sense his growing despair and rubbed Derek’s back. “I don’t know E,” he started. “I’m losing it. I don’t want to live like this, and I guess all of my anger from the weekend made me lash out.”

“As much as you probably shouldn’t have initiated a public bar fight, thank you for sticking up for me.” Erica stepped back and held Derek’s head in her hands so they were facing each other. She planted a big kiss to his cheek, then rubbed the red lipstick off with her thumb. “They had cameras. Things aren’t going to be so easy the next few days, but I’m here for you.”

Derek gave her a sad smile and nodded. “I know you are.”

Once the crowd in the bar settled down, the friends left the bathroom. Erica headed back to work while Derek went to the front desk. He had gotten the drunk pervert’s name from his bar tab and made sure the concierge knew to do whatever it took to get the man out of the Lunar Coast. 

Derek stepped up to the elevator, hand positioned over the button, but something stopped him. He took out his phone to check the time. It was 9:03, three minutes after Stiles’s shift ended. From their conversation earlier Derek could tell the guy would try and get out of the hotel as fast as possible, so Derek ran to the kitchen where he knew the waiters clocked in and out. 

“Mr. Hale!” one of the chefs said in surprise. 

“I’m looking for an employee,” Derek said once he saw no sign of Stiles. “His name is Sti-Jackson, yeah Jackson. Did he clock out already?”

“Jackson Whittemore, the new guy?” the chef replied in the middle of chopping an onion. “Headed out right as the clock turned. I think I saw him head out through the patio towards the beach.”

Derek thanked the man and ran outside. He walked through the pool area as late night swimmers crowded the deck. He almost made it to the boardwalk entrance when Rebecca stepped right in front of him. “Derek,” she slurred. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He could smell the tequila on her breath. A group of girls sitting at the outdoor bar giggled and cheered Rebecca on, all seeming to be her also drunk friends. 

“What do you want, Rebecca? I have to go,” he tried to get around her, but she stumbled forward and gripped onto his blazer.

“I...I just wanted you to know,” she giggled, “how so incredibly sexy you are and all the things I want to do to you. I knew we hit it off at the gala, Derek, just admit it.” She put on a fake pouty face and pressed a manicured finger into his chest. “You want me. And I want you. And people who want each other should totally like do each other and be together.”

He nearly had to pry the girl’s fingers off of him. Derek gently pushed her back by the shoulders. “You’re drunk. Go back to your friends, okay? Now’s not a good time.”

Rebecca’s face instantly fell. She narrowed her eyes angrily and stomped her foot like a toddler before turning back towards the bar. Derek just rolled his eyes and kept going towards the boardwalk. He didn’t stop walking until he got to Mama’s shack. The hut was vacant, but the light was on inside. Derek turned to head towards the ocean.

Sure enough, there was one figure out on the water in this part of the beach. Some groups were further down, but Derek wasn’t focused on them. Stiles was alone tonight.

Derek waited for five minutes before Stiles noticed his silhouette against the bright boardwalk lights. He paddled in eagerly and ran up to Derek with a smile, dripping saltwater everywhere in his path. 

“No friends joining you tonight?” Derek asked. 

“No, they went home early for game night. I was about to head there, but thought I’d relax real quick after work.” Stiles set his board down, _gently_ this time, and started to peel off his black rash guard that hugged his torso in all the right places. “What has you all the way back at this part of the beach? Not that I’m complaining.”

Even in the dull moonlight, Derek could see every inch of Stiles’s bare chest. The guy was muscular, but not ripped. His frame was a lot smaller than Derek’s, and he was more lean and toned than buff and bulky from his surfing hobby. There was no denying, though, that Stiles was beautiful. Derek wanted nothing more than to run his hand down the guy’s wet chest, but he knew better, and instead scolded himself for pining so hard for a guy he had just met. 

“I…” Derek said. “I had a rough night. I don’t know, I just wanted to get some fresh air.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “So you just happened to pick this spot? The one strip of sand right in front of me? Seems rather fishy, Mr. Hale.” Derek couldn’t hide his embarrassment as he ducked his head. Stiles just laughed it off, though, clearly not weirded out by the lowkey stalking that occurred. “Like I said, I’m not complaining.”

“I just really messed up tonight, and I’m dreading facing my family,” said Derek. “You’re one of the few people I know now that isn’t a hotel elitist that’d judge me for damaging the Hale reputation.”

Stiles gave him a sad look, but didn’t push Derek. The man appreciated that, as most people would pry at him to spill the dirty details. Erica was the only one that could do that. “Well,” Stiles said. “It’s no hotel gala with champagne and ball gowns, but you’re welcome to come back to my place with me and join game night.”

“I don’t think your friends would like that very much,” Derek said reluctantly. He wished he could go, he wished he could join Stiles’s life and drown his sorrows in a cold beer and the surfer’s company. “Maybe another time.”

Neither of them really believed that time would come, but they both hoped. Stiles just nodded understandingly. “Yeah, maybe another time. Goodnight Derek.”

Derek watched the man pack up his stuff and grab his board. “Goodnight Stiles.”

…

The next morning was hell for Derek. He woke up to Cora busting down his door and shoving her phone in his face. He was looking at himself, well, himself beating up the bar guy last night. “Are you kidding me?!” Cora exclaimed with a laugh. “TMZ, DailyMail, freakin’ E! News! This story’s everywhere. ‘Hotel Heir Gets into Bar Fight with Local Pervert’, ‘Does Derek Hale Have a Dark Side?’, or ooh how about ‘Is This the Man You Want Managing Your Hotel?’ You’re everywhere, D.” 

Derek threw a pillow at his sister, but she easily dodged it thanks to his tired state. “Crap,” Derek muttered into his mattress. “Has mom seen?”

“Probably,” Cora said. “You’re lucky the guy didn’t press charges.”

Derek slowly sat up with a grown and grabbed Cora’s phone. He felt a heavy pit in his stomach as he scrolled through the news stories. “I think he knew that if he pressed charges for beating his ass I’d press charges for assaulting one of my employees, and we both know I’d win that legal fight.”

“Derek!” Talia’s angry voice came from outside the hallway. Derek physically cringed in preparation of the verbal ass beating he was about to get. Cora just mouthed ‘good luck’ and slowly backed out of the room after their angry mother entered. “What the hell did you do?!”

“He touched Erica, mom!” Derek yelled back. He had gotten out of bed now to face his mother. Despite the half a foot Derek had on his mother, her presence was three times the size of her son. He felt small under her steely gaze. 

“And we have hotel security to deal with that,” Talia retaliated. Her arms were crossed over her chest, a clear sign the matriarch was pissed beyond compromise. She stuck a finger in Derek’s face. “I’ve had it with you acting out. I get it you hate this life, hate that I am a horrible mother who has stripped away your freedom. But you know what, Derek? Your actions affect this whole family, your sisters too! We are in this together as much as you don’t want to be. Now this ordeal makes it look like we’re impulsive and irrational, not just you! You don’t want to know what I’ll do if I see one more tabloid story of how you’ve rebelled against the reputation your father and I have worked hard to build.”

“Don’t bring Dad into this!” Derek exclaimed, angrily. “I’m sorry, okay. Is that what you want me to say? I’m sorry I’m such a problem child and you have to babysit your 24 year-old son. I wasn’t going to let some perv get away with assaulting my best friend. You know what I stand for. Yeah, I probably took it too far, but you weren’t there mom. You didn’t see the look on that man’s face. He wasn’t going to stop until someone set him straight. I want you to be proud that I stood up to it.”

Talia sighed and slowly walked over to the armchair in the corner of Derek’s room. She sat down and pulled her shawl tighter around her body with a sigh. “I understand that son,” she said. “But you knew this would be a mess Peter and I would have to clean up. The Davenports have already called to have you stay away from Rebecca. You’ve lost their respect, and as our top investors you need to fix that. Stand up for what you want, I don’t care. Please, though, think about the consequences.”

Derek walked over to his mom and rested a hand on her shoulder. He hated when Talia was mad at him. She would just wear a look of disappointment that made him cower in a corner. “I truly am sorry mom,” he said quietly. “It won’t happen again.” 

Talia gave her son a soft smile and squeezed his hand. Even with no words shared, Derek knew it meant forgiveness. “I’m going to finish getting ready. Join us for breakfast?”

Derek smiled back and helped his mother up from the chair. “Of course.”


	4. Chapter 4

The media forgot about Derek’s little ‘incident’ fairly quickly thanks to Justin Bieber’s paparazzi flicks in downtown Malibu and a dog that rescued a child from a pool. The pervert had checked out of the hotel and Talia and Peter worked with management everywhere to cover up any loose ends. Derek didn’t really care if the story faded or not, he was already in the dog pound enough with his family. 

The rest of the week was not any more eventful than the weekend Derek had had. He was just relaxing on the beach in front of the hotel with his sisters and some of their friends. All Derek had to focus on was the epic tan he was getting and the cold beer in his hand. 

“Who’s up for a swim?” Cora jumped up and turned to the group. Laura was in right away along with most of the group. Soon it was just Derek refusing to get up from his towel. 

“Come on, D, don’t be lame,” Laura urged. Although there was tension after their conversation after the gala, Derek knew he would get nowhere by holding a grudge. Things were better with Laura now; they always got better with her. 

“Yeah, Derek! It’s like 90 degrees, don’t you want to cool off?” One of Cora’s friends, Molly, piped in. The girl was 19 with curly brown hair and bright blue eyes. Her and Cora had been friends since middle school and it was obvious to everyone about Molly’s huge crush on her friend’s brother. Derek never tried to lead the girl on, but also never wanted to break her heart. Molly was like a little sister at this point with how often she and Cora were together, but calling her that to her face would crush the girl. 

Derek looked up to see everyone not already in the water urging him to come on. He rolled his eyes and sat up. “Screw it, the ocean is calling,” he said and hopped to his feet, setting his beer into one of the chair’s cupholders. Everyone hollered and started running towards the ocean. Derek was too fast for Cora, though, and scooped her over one shoulder as they were running. 

“Derek!” she squealed and hit his back, but her laugh told him she was having fun. He threw his sister into the waves once they got into the water. 

The group started laughing and splashing each other, and Derek was actually enjoying himself. It had been a while since he could fully unwind and forget about the hotel duties set out for him in the near future. Right now he was able to act his age and enjoy a day on the beach with his friends. 

“Oh, he’s here!” Cora yelled and ran out of the water. Derek and Laura watched their little sister run up to some new guy on the beach. The man set down his stuff near theirs and accepted Cora’s hug. 

The older Hale siblings shared a look that said neither of them knew who the guy was. Cora came back down to the water, pulling the man along behind her. “Derek, Laura, this is Isaac Lahey. His dad owns the big law firm down the street.” 

They were in shallow enough water to stand with most of their torsos exposed, so Derek offered Isaac an outstretched hand. The man smiled and accepted it graciously, doing the same with Laura. “Cora and I have some mutual friends,” said Isaac as he waved at the familiar faces in the group. “She invited me here. Hope you guys are fine with me crashing your beach day.”

Laura put on her friendliest smile. “Of course! The more the merrier.” Isaac just reciprocated the expression and swam off to join the others. 

Cora was about to follow, but her siblings blocked her path with stern expressions. “Move,” she said with her arms crossed.

“First, tell us all about this _Isaac_ ,” Laura teased and started to poke Cora’s bare stomach. Cora glared at her sister and splashed her with water. 

“Isaac is just a _friend_ ,” Cora responded. She turned to her brother with a shit-eating grin. “Besides, I brought him for Derek.”

“What?” Derek narrowed his eyes. Cora tried to push past him, but he was nearly three times her small size. “Explain.”

Cora rolled her eyes. “I thought maybe you could use a little help in the dating department okay. Isaac’s a nice guy, handsome, funny, not a complete prick, everything you’re looking for.”

“And does he know he was brought here for matchmaking?” Laura questioned.

“No! And he’s not here just for that,” Cora said. “He is actually my friend that I want to hang out with. Now move and let me do that.”

Derek sighed and stepped out of the way so his sister could swim past. “I don’t need any help in the dating department, thank you,” he muttered. 

Both girls’ heads perked up and they turned to their brother. “What?” they said in unison. Derek just leaned backwards to float on his back and hide his ears in the water, pretending that he didn’t know what they were talking about. That lasted only a couple seconds before they both tackled him, causing him to nearly drown underwater. 

“What does that mean Derek Hale,” Laura said with her finger in his face once they let him resurface.

Cora came in right after her. “Are you dating someone? And you didn’t tell us? Derek!”

He held up his hands in defense and backed away from the accusatory fingers and stares. “I...I’m not dating anyone. I didn’t mean that. There’s no one.” One person came to Derek’s mind, though, when he said that. He hadn’t been able to get Stiles out of his head, and they barely knew each other. He wouldn’t mind dating Stiles, but he didn’t know what team the guy batted for, or if it was both, or if he was even single. It was an obsession that made Derek feel like a crazy stalker, because all he wanted every second of the day now was to hike it down to Mama’s and see if Stiles was working there or surfing the waves. 

His sisters dropped it after Derek reassured them he said those words because he just wanted to find someone on his own. He did not need the two nosiest people he knew finding out about his crush on a _beach bum_ of all people. Once they joined their friends wading in the water, Derek was able to slowly back out and walk back to his beach towel to avoid any more snooping questions. A group of women sunbathing in skimpy bikinis whistled and waved at him, clearly eyeing his dripping wet bare torso. Derek just ignored them. 

He was almost to his towel when a loud “I got it!” came from the left. Derek turned just in time for a body to collide with his, sending both of them crashing to the sand with a thud. 

Derek groaned as he tried to blink the sand out of his eyes. “Holy shit dude, I am so sorry!” a voice came from the stranger laying on top of him “I was catching the football and didn’t see you and...Derek?”

Once Derek could see clearly, he nearly gasped in shock from the owner of the voice. “Stiles?” he squeaked. What were his chances, that the man he was just thinking about was now sprawled out on top of him, bare chests touching and Stiles’s mouth mere inches from his. Stiles leaned up on his hands and stared dumbfounded at Derek. The sun and blue sky was silhouetting him perfectly, and Derek almost felt like he was in a dream if it wasn’t for the screaming kids and chatter all around them. “Stiles...could you, maybe, get off?” He had to cut the dream short from it gradually getting harder to breathe. 

“Shit! Yeah, yeah sorry!” Stiles stammered and got up quickly. He held out a hand to help Derek too, who gladly accepted. In Stiles’s other hand was the football he had just barely caught. Both men brushed the sand off of their bodies, but Derek’s skin was soaking wet, so it was a lot harder. Stiles seemed to notice too and without thinking, dropped the ball and assisted Derek in trying to get the sand off. “Crap, sorry about that. I really didn’t see you and wow, what a coincidence that it’s you and...and now I’m touching your body without your permission wow.” Stiles caught himself and backed away.

Derek wouldn’t admit that he missed Stiles’s hands on his bare skin, but he really did. He looked up at the guy who was clearly embarrassed from his sporadic behavior. “Stiles, it’s okay,” Derek said. “Really, what’s a little sand? We live at the beach.”

“Stiles!” A voice down the beach called the man’s name. “What are you doing?” Derek could make out Scott in the distance slowly walking towards them. Derek braced himself for the judgement, and sure enough, was met with the scowling face of Stiles’s friend once he saw him. “Oh, what are you doing talking to... _him_?”

“Geez, bro,” Stiles said and took a few steps backwards from Derek. “Say it with a bit more disgust next time, will ya? And I caught the ball that _you_ threw super far, and ran into Derek. That’s all.”

Scott looked suspiciously between the two and bent down to pick up the football. “Yeah, alright. Just come on, we’re headed to Jackson’s for the barbecue.”

“I’ll catch up to you, okay?” Stiles said, clearly waiting for Scott to leave. Scott glared daggers at Derek and just rolled his eyes before walking back down the beach. “I’m again sorry about him, and sorry about the whole collision.”

Derek laughed. “You need to stop apologizing, especially for him. He doesn’t like me and that’s okay. He can join a long list.”

Stiles laughed back and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Thank you. We seem to run into each other a lot, now literally. I have to go, but can next time not be for so short like always?”

Derek felt his heart beat louder by the second. “What do you mean?” he asked eagerly, hoping Stiles was thinking the same thing he was.

Stiles smiled and glanced over his shoulder to make sure Scott was far enough away. “Meet me on the boardwalk tonight at 8 near the arcade? I should be able to sneak away from those guys. I feel like all these random meetings between us means we should get to know each other more.”

If the beach wasn’t so loud with so many people, Stiles would surely be able to hear Derek’s heart by now. It felt like it was about to escape from his chest. “Yeah,” Derek said, trying to hide his excitement. He looked to his left and saw his sisters and friends starting to head out of the water. If Stiles didn’t leave now, they’d surely grill him for talking with Derek. “8, I’ll be there.” He wished he could take a mental screenshot of the smile Stiles gave him and keep it forever. The guy nodded and took a step back before waving and heading off after Scott. It was just in time for the group to catch up to Derek’s spot on the beach.

“Who was that?” Laura asked, curiously. 

Derek just shrugged, trying not to look affected. “Just some stranger who bumped into me. He was apologizing.”

His sister didn’t look completely convinced, but luckily she dropped it. “Hm, alright. Anyone up for some drinks at the pool bar?” 

“Absolutely!” Cora said and led the group back towards the hotel. 

Erica was working the outside bar today, a fortunate thing for Derek. He needed to get off his chest what just happened. They all took their seats on lounge chairs surrounding a small table and Laura and Derek went up to the bar. He loved it out here. The bar was decorated all beachy with memorabilia dating back to his grandfather’s day on the one large wall. Televisions lined the top of it with shelves and shelves of alcohol below them. There was always summer music playing loudly through the speakers, and the bartenders out here got to wear bathing suits under their open work uniforms for when they went on breaks. Erica was rocking a bright pink bikini today that stood out against the pale blue of her unbuttoned shirt and white shorts. 

“Well, if it isn’t my favorite customers,” the blonde greeted them. Laura ordered drinks for the underage kids, with only her, Derek, and Isaac being 21 or over. Once she took them back over to their friends, Derek swept in for his chance to gossip. 

“I have a lot to share,” Derek said. 

Erica knew right away it was about Stiles and leaned in so he didn’t have to talk loudly. “Spill,” she said and waggled her eyebrows excitedly. 

Derek sighed and made sure no one, especially his sisters, were eavesdropping. “He asked me to meet him on the boardwalk tonight.”

Erica squealed so loud it caught the attention of the other bartender and the people sitting down. She just waved her hand to dismiss their attention. “Oh my goodness, like a date?” she whisper-yelled.

Derek shrugged. “No, well...at least not yet. I’m gonna make it my goal tonight to even see if he’s available or into, you know, men. I really want to get to know him, Erica.”

“Sounds like a perfect idea to me,” Erica said in a giddy tone. She was acting more excited for Derek than he was for himself. “I get off early tonight, sleepover at my place to share the details?”

Derek rose his beer with a smile. “I’ll be there,” he said, then joined the rest of the group. Aaron, another one of Cora’s stoner buddies, was sharing some story about a massive wipeout he had on the waves. Everyone was intrigued besides Laura, who looked thankful that her brother finally joined them. 

“So…” Cora said once Aaron was done blabbing. “Isaac! Why don’t you tell Derek about the surfing competition you placed in?”

Isaac ducked his head with a blush, clearly not a fan of all the attention on him. Derek had to admit he was intrigued by the mysterious guy, but didn’t feel any romantic pull at first sight to get to know the guy for those purposes. “Well,” Isaac said. “It was pretty intense, but I managed to get fourth overall out of 50 surfers.”

“That’s great!” Laura said, more interested in Isaac than she was with Aaron. “Derek, isn’t that great?”

Derek was mid sip, but just nodded and quickly swallowed it down. “Very great. Congratulations. Where at?”

“Venice Beach, just for the Venice Waves Cup. I’ve been competing in it since I was 14.”

Derek felt his grip tighten on his beer bottle once he heard the comp name. He had competed in the cup too, from age 11 to 16. Then, his father passed away. Matthew had trained his son and cheered him on from the sand at every event. It was a road trip they always took together, loading up Derek’s board in the back of his dad’s truck. Derek placed first in his last year and did so well people started to notice. They called him, begging him to join more competitions and get sponsored. His father encouraged it, having been so excited to see his son follow in his surfing footsteps. Once Derek got the call after his 17th birthday asking if he was going to sign up again for the competition, he cried into his mother’s chest all night. Now it had been so long, but the same heavy feeling set over him as before. 

“Are you okay?” Molly asked. Derek just smiled and nodded. Laura clearly knew what was affecting him, and that his nod was a lie. Bless his sister, who changed the subject to the beach bonfire coming up that their age group went to every year. Derek was able to calm himself down quietly, but didn’t miss Isaac’s confusing and concerned looks. “I’m so excited for the bonfire! Derek, are you going?”

Molly was so eager when she looked at him. “Um, yeah probably,” he replied. 

“That’s awesome,” the girl said with a blush. “Um...I was wondering if you wanted to go together?”

Laura nearly spit out her margherita. The bonfire was a sacred tradition that had gone on for Lord knows how long amongst the locals. Both moneybags and beach bums alike partied it up through the night around a huge bonfire with booze, drugs, music, dancing, all the typical rager elements. It was known to get pretty wild with both social groups merging. There are also the rebel tourist teens who sneak in once they hear about the epic party. It was pretty easy to spot them, though.

One big part of the bonfire tradition, though, was what it meant to ask someone. Of course, friends asked to go with friends, but usually in groups. If a guy outright asked one girl, or vice versa, it was a huge deal. Everyone hears about it and assumes you’re a thing, and automatically you sign yourselves up to eventually be forced to go to ‘The Rocks’. This place was literally what it sounded like: a group of large rocks and boulders down the beach near the bonfire where couples were known to skinny dip and get nasty in the sand. If you didn’t get to The Rocks at one point in the night after showing up with a date, you were labeled as a prude and humiliated in front of everyone at the bonfire. 

Derek had had one date to the bonfire since he had been going. He asked a girl in high school he was dating for like a month. Derek never asked his college boyfriend to be a date as people didn’t care much about the gay couples that showed up, unless the drunk frat boys could get off to two lesbians. He hated guys like that. 

Now Molly had basically called Derek out in front of all of their friends. He knew he had to let her down easy. “Molly,” he started. “I...I thought you were going with all of them as a group?”

“Well, we can go with everyone,” Molly went on. “But we could still be dates?”

Laura had sheer panic on her face, and Cora was red from secondhand embarrassment. Isaac was just confused, and their few other friends looked at Derek for a response. “I think we should all go as friends this year, just to not make anything...weird.”

It was clearly not the response the girl wanted. She put on a brave face and a sad smile. “Oh, yeah totally,” Molly said with a nod then stood up. “I have to get home, but see you guys later.”

Derek wanted to smash his bottle over his head. He hated hurting nice peoples’ feelings. Molly wasn’t judgemental, but instead a kind and loyal friend. She would be the perfect candidate for someone for Derek to date, but he couldn’t get past the little sister thing still. Also, he had someone else occupying his mind lately. 

Everyone eventually faded out to leave just the Hale siblings chatting under the stars. Derek didn’t realize it had gotten dark until the hotel turned on the tiki torches and outdoor lights. He eagerly checked his phone to be met with the disappointment that it was only 7:15. 45 minutes, he could do this. 

“That’s like the tenth time in the past two minutes that you’ve checked your phone, Der,” Cora pointed out. “You got a hot date or something tonight?”

Or something. Derek smiled sheepishly and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. “Nope, just keep getting notifications. 

Warm breath against his ear made Derek nearly jump out of his skin. “Notifications from who? I’m right here.” 

Rebecca Davenport. 

“Rebecca,” Derek deadpanned. “I thought your dad forbade you from seeing me?” He was eager she’d say yes and get lost. 

For some odd reason, the girl took that as an invitation to sit down right next to Derek and rest a hand on his arm. Both of his sisters shared the iconic Hale eye roll. “Something you’ll learn about me, Derek, is that I don’t listen to my dad very often. He can’t tell me what I can and can’t have.” She made seductive eyes that probably would’ve worked on any desperate guy looking for a hot girl to get with, but not Derek. “I’m a little disappointed you didn’t invite me to join you earlier if you were looking this hot and shirtless the whole time!”

Teeth were gritted and Derek held everything back to not pry the girl’s hand off of him. “Sorry, family outing.”

Rebecca just shrugged, clearly ignoring the two other girls sitting with them. Her attention was solely focused on Derek and his very exposed torso. He had never felt so naked, and Cora’s bang buddy had literally seen him naked a few days ago. “So, I wanted to talk to you about the bonfire. I’m wearing a maroon bikini, so don’t wear anything that will clash, okay? And pick me up at 7.” Her phone rang then, and the girl stood up to walk away and take it. 

Derek didn’t let her get far though as both him and his sisters’ eyes went wide at Rebecca’s words. He stood up and grabbed Rebecca’s arm to turn her back around. “Wait what?” he said. “I’m not going with you, though?”

Rebecca laughed. “Oh Derek. I know you were going to, though. I saved you the struggle and sped up the process.”

“Rebecca, I-” 

She shushed him by putting a finger on his lips. Derek went cross eyed staring down at the finger, then back at her. Rebecca stepped closer into his space until they were inches apart and he could make out her heavy eye makeup up close. “You’re taking me to the bonfire, or I’ll tell my dad that you’ve been stalking me and won’t leave me alone.” She didn’t let him respond, just turned on her heel and answered her ringing cell phone as she left. 

Derek was left stunned. Cora and Laura ran up to face him, both with angry looks. “Did she just threaten you?!” Laura exclaimed. “That bitch! She has no right to force you.”

“I’m going to punch in her fake white teeth and rip her-”

“Cora!” Derek stopped his little sister. “It’s okay. I’ll talk to her again before the bonfire and work this out, okay? Don’t make anything worse or she’ll follow through with that threat.” He checked his phone again. 7:40. If Derek wanted to get changed and be there on time, he needed to go now. “I have to go, but I’ll figure out Rebecca later. See you guys later.” He kissed both of their cheeks and ran off before they could ask any questions. 

Derek made it up the elevator and into the penthouse in minutes. He ran past his mom doing work at the dining room table into his bedroom. Derek nearly fell over trying to get his swim trunks off. But then, what if Stiles asked him to go for a night swim? He quickly threw them back on. Luckily they were a simple dark blue, so he finished his outfit with a grey wife beater and a white hoodie on top since the night air was getting cooler. 

“Derek where are you going?” Talia asked when he came back out into the foyer and into her line of sight from the dining room, stumbling trying to put on his shoes. 

“Um, just meeting Erica down the boardwalk,” he said. “Love you, bye.” Derek left the penthouse before his mother could say anything else. 

Derek’s heart was beating a mile a minute as he stepped out onto the boardwalk. His palms were sweating and nerves were building in his stomach. Derek checked his phone. It was 7:52, just enough time to get down into the main hub of the boardwalk. With a deep breath, Derek headed down that way, more excited than he had been for anything in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops :) looks like you’ll have to wait for their date! Thank you to all who have commented feedback so far it really helps!


	5. Chapter 5

Stiles looked like a scene out of a movie. Every passerby around him was blurred as Derek solely focused on the man he was meeting. The arcade lights lit up like a halo around Stiles as he leaned against a wall on his phone. It was unfair how effortlessly good the guy looked in just a Quicksilver tee and black shorts. Derek noticed the many string and leather bracelets lining Stiles’s wrists and the shark tooth necklace around his neck. He had only seen the guy on the beach or working as a waiter; streetwear Stiles was a look he could definitely get used to. 

Derek didn’t have to say anything before Stiles looked up and made eye contact. He was greeted with a huge smile as Stiles pushed off the wall and sauntered over. “Derek! You came,” he said excitedly. 

“Of course I came,” Derek said, trying to reciprocate the enthusiasm as much as he could. The smiles on Stiles’s face was infectious. The bright and colorful lights surrounding the two had nothing on the man in front of Derek. He already felt ten pounds lighter without the pressure of his family surrounding him; Derek could breathe, both literally and metaphorically as salty ocean air seeped into his skin. This was about to be an amazing night. “So, any plans lined up?”

Stiles beamed, giddy like a school child let out for recess. “I was thinking first stop, the best fries on the boardwalk.” He rose both of his arms up, gesturing to what was behind Derek. Derek turned around, met with a huge sign over a kiosk and the intense smell of vinegar and fry oil. “Then after, the arcade?”

“Captain Riptide’s,” Derek read the sign. “My favorite. And that sounds amazing.”

Stiles cheered and grabbed Derek’s hand, pulling him to the fry line. Derek didn’t miss how the man lingered over his skin for a few extra seconds before separating their fingers. The line was fairly short, so Derek and Stiles were up next right away. “Bucket of your best and two waters,” Stiles said and reached for his wallet in his pocket.

Derek held up a hand to stop Stiles. “Let me get it,” he said and grabbed his own wallet. 

Stiles was too fast though, and handed a debit card to the cashier before Derek had time to stop him. “No,” Stiles said seriously. “I got it moneybags. I work hard for this cash and I planned this date, so let me treat you.”

Fortunately for Derek, Stiles turned back towards the cashier in time to miss his growing blush. It seemed as if Stiles didn’t realize he called it a date, or if he did Derek didn’t notice. Derek was affected though, as his heart fluttered and his stomach did flips. Who was he? Derek Hale was known for being stone cold and brooding, and now some man he barely knew was changing everything. Hopefully, this actually was a date. Derek didn’t want to call it one until he knew where Stiles stood on all of this, on him. 

“One bucket of salt and vinegar french fries,” Stiles snapped him out of it. “Shall we?”

The pair walked over to an empty picnic table that overlooked the ocean. Although it was dark, the moon shone over the water beautifully. Derek caught Stiles looking out at it longingly. “You really love the ocean, huh?” Derek asked. 

Stiles turned away and popped a fry in his mouth. Derek followed suit, relishing in the brilliant salty flavor that he missed. Nothing beat boardwalk food, even the five star chefs of the hotel. “I do,” Stiles responded with a fond smile. “I was raised in it. But my sob background story we can save for next time.”

“Next time?” Derek asked. “Expecting a lot out of this already, hm?”

Stiles chuckled and dove back into the bucket. “I just have a good feeling,” he said, then his face took on a very serious composure. “So Derek Hale, I want to learn more about _you_. How does one of People Magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People end up sitting across from me at a rickety picnic bench? Do tell.”

Derek inhaled sharply. “Oh gosh, don’t remind me about that.” He shoved a handful of fries in his mouth and swallowed before carrying on. “Well, let’s just say the famous life isn’t all that Beverly Hills makes it out to be. Like you said, I’m pretty different. Everyone around me all the time just cares about appearance and reputation and wealth. It’s suffocating, honestly. Being out here...I can breathe. This is the life I’ve missed. Getting older, the media pays more attention to you. They focus on your looks and money and who you’re dating. You don’t care about those things, and I like that.”

Stiles ducked his head down at the compliment, hiding his red cheeks behind the gesture of just reaching for more fries. “You’re right, I don’t,” he said proudly. “Although I can’t say I’m not curious about the dating question. Not as paparazzi to sell your secrets to magazines, but just like...for me--I mean, just curious.” He stumbled out his last words through a mouthful. 

Derek tried not to read too deep into it. He offered Stiles a napkin, who accepted graciously. “There’s not much to say about it. Single as ever, just waiting for the right girl or guy I guess.”

He hoped Stiles picked up on the subtle sexuality hint, and he clearly did. A second later the man was nearly choking on a fry, grasping for the closest water bottle (which was Derek’s) and downing it to clear his throat. “O-Oh,” Stiles said between coughs. “I see. That’s good. Not for me good I mean just like good for you that you don’t need anyone. That’s...good.”

The way Stiles stuttered and stumbled but still looked incredibly adorable while doing it was endearing. How could someone be so cool and hot and cute at the same time? Erica was right. Derek had a crush. “And you?” he asked, curious as ever to the question he had been dying to ask. 

Stiles shrugged. “Same here. _Exactly_ the same...guy or girl.”

If Derek could get on the ground and praise to the heavens above, he would. Hearing that Stiles was interested in men was the best news he had heard all week. Now he had a chance. Stiles was single, charming, everything Derek wanted. 

The only thing standing between him going after it was his family. His mother would kill him if he let it leak to the tabloids about a rendezvous with a “no name beach bum”, and Peter would shoot his dead body. Derek didn’t want to drag Stiles into his messed up and privacy-free life, but the way he made Derek feel was so addicting. 

“Tell me about you,” Derek said. “I don’t even know your last name or age. All I know is you work at a surf shop, are really good at surfing, and your friends hate me.”

“They’ll come around,” Stiles laughed. “I’m 22 and my last name is Stilinski; and no, my parents did not name me Stiles Stilinski. Stiles is a nickname to hide the monstrosity of my actual name, which is at least a tenth date conversation.”

“ _Ten_ now really?” Derek teased. “Now you’re really confident.” 

Stiles threw a fry at his face. “I guess we’ll see,” he said with a wink that sent butterflies through Derek’s stomach. “Anyways, you’ve pretty much summed up my personality. I live on the water when I’m not working. Scott took me in when I was younger and his mom owns Mama’s. That’s where I met all my friends, and now we all live together in a house about ten minutes from here.”

“All of you?” Derek asked curiously. He was 24 and still living with his family, but it was the best option for him. Derek always thought about moving out, but hated the thought of being alone. Laura was leaving in the fall and Erica lived with her boyfriend Boyd, so he didn’t have many options of roommates. “That sounds...really fun.”

Stiles smiled like he was recalling fond memories in his head. “It really is. It’s me, Scott, his girlfriend Allison, Lydia, Jackson, and our friend Malia. We’re all family, plus a lot of roommates helps with rent.”

An envious pit grew in Derek’s stomach. Oh how he longed for a life like that. “I don’t have many people,” he found himself opening up. Stiles looked up and gave a look that asked Derek to elaborate. “I have my best friend Erica, her boyfriend, and a few other distant friends, but Erica’s the only close one. That’s really great that you have all of them.”

Derek wasn’t the type to open up to anyone except Erica, and now he was spilling his heart to a guy he barely knew. He told himself he better stop before Stiles thought he was usually this vulnerable. 

The man across from him stood up and held out a hand. “Well Derek Hale, now you’ve gained one more to add to the list,” Stiles said with a grin. “Shall we get our arcade on?”

Derek let a small smile break out on his face and grasped onto the hand, allowing Stiles to pull him up and drag him towards the nearby building, throwing away their trash along the way. The arcade was buzzing with kids, teens, and adults alike laughing and cheering each other on as they won games. The arcade was full of actual arcade games and simulators, but also carnival-type games that can win you prizes. The building had large garage doors that opened up so it was all open air in the summertime. Derek and Stiles walked right up off the boardwalk to the squirting game where they had to race to hit a target and raise their bar first. Stiles excitedly handed the employee a five dollar bill and sat Derek down next to him. 

“One thing you’ll learn about me Hale,” he said while cracking his knuckles, “is that I’m very competitive.”

A loud voice over a speaker counted them down from 3, then Stiles was shooting his water gun into the bullseye. Derek scrambled to catch up, but couldn’t pass Stiles no matter how dead on he got. After 20 seconds a loud chime sounded after Stiles reached the top. “Hell yeah!” he hollered and pumped a fist in the air. The employee gave him a small stuffed whale, something that would probably please a child more, but Stiles still looked just as excited. 

“Alright Stilinski,” Derek said. “You got me there. But you’re no match to me in ring toss.” 

“Game on,” Stiles said and happily pulled Derek to the next game. 

Derek was right, and Stiles lost to him on that one, but their tie only made them jump to more contests, playing game after game until their hands were full of prizes. The pair stumbled out of the arcade, laughing and smiling from ear to ear. They collapsed onto a bench and compared prizes. 

“What?!” Stiles exclaimed. “When did you get six and I only have five? I could’ve sworn my starfish got me ahead of you.”

Derek just shrugged teasingly. “Don’t underestimate me.”

Stiles stared at him for a second, an unreadable expression on his face. A smile started to grow, though, and he ducked his head shyly. “I definitely won’t.” They sat like that for a minute, getting lost in each other and tuning out the world around them. Stiles’s breath went shaky as he scooted a bit closer to Derek. “I…” he started. “Let’s go to the ocean.”

Derek missed the warmth of Stiles so close to him once the man hopped up from the bench. Stiles grabbed all of his stuffed animal prizes, looking conflicted as to what to do with them. He set the whale back on the bench, then turned around towards the crowd. “Hey!” he said to a nearby kid. “You want these?” The child eagerly nodded and his eyes lit up as Stiles dumped the rest of the stuffed animals into the kid’s arms. “There you go buddy.” He smiled as the boy ran off down the boardwalk, hands full of prizes. 

Derek watched the encounter with admiration and decided to follow suit. He left out a small whale that matched Stiles’s and found another kid just as excited. It felt good to bring that smile to the child’s face. Derek loved giving, loved the joy it brought him to make someone else happy. 

The two shared a big smile before grabbing their whales and running towards the ocean. As soon as Derek’s feet hit the sand, he stripped off his shoes and ran after Stiles, hollering into the night sky. The sounds of the boardwalk got more and more distant until he could only hear Stiles’s yells and the crashing of the ocean. 

Stiles threw down his stuff as he was running and stripped off his shirt and shoes. He didn’t think twice before diving into the dark waves. Derek waited for Stiles’s head to pop up before taking off his shirt and hoodie and throwing them down onto the sand. He ran towards the ocean, jumping a bit at the cold water. To get past the worst part quickly, though, Derek fully emerged himself and swam out to Stiles. He was shivering, but they got used to the temperature fairly quickly thanks to the warm summer air. 

“Isn’t this amazing?” Stiles asked and looked out at the moon above the water. “Night swimming is one of my favorite things.”

There was a rowdy group of young adults down the beach, but Derek could only make out silhouettes splashing around. Other than them, him and Stiles were fairly isolated from society. It was incredibly peaceful. They could both stand where they were, the water up to their waists. 

“It is,” Derek answered, but he wasn’t looking at the moon. He was looking at Stiles looking at the moon. The light illuminated his features, so Derek finally got to really inspect the guy. His nose was slightly upturned in the cutest way, his eyes were big and brown and sparkled, and there was the slightest hint of a five o’clock shadow. Hell, if Erica could hear him waxing poetic, she’d never stop making fun of him. Derek shook his head, wondering why these thoughts invaded his mind. Now that he was here with Stiles in person, only a foot of ocean separating them, he couldn’t think about anything else. 

Derek really wanted to kiss Stiles...but he couldn’t.

They didn’t know each other, at least not well. Despite the feeling that Derek had known Stiles his whole life, he knew better than to dive in too fast. He had had way too many dates end in first kisses that made the other person either run away, or sell the story to the media that they were dating Derek Hale. Derek wanted to take it slow with Stiles, to get to know the ins and outs and what made him, well… _him_. 

Stiles leaned back to float, now staring up at the dark night sky. “A couple of stars came out tonight,” he said and pointed up. Derek tipped his head back to see. They didn’t usually get many stars in Malibu thanks to pollution, but a few appeared occasionally. 

Giving in, Derek leaned back too and let the saltwater support his body weight. He rocked up and down with the waves moving beneath him, occasionally bumping arms with Stiles. Neither man moved or flinched though, just enjoying the peaceful silence of the water covering their ears. 

They stayed in the water until their skin turned pruney, then headed towards the shore. Derek shivered as the night air hit his skin once he was on the beach. He sat down, Stiles following with a plop next to him. “Thank you for this,” Derek said.

Stiles perked up, face confused. “For what?”

Derek gestured around. “Just for this, all of tonight. You have no idea how much I needed it.”

The man lifted up his butt and moved to close the space between them. Stiles’s shoulder and side was flush against Derek’s now, their skin radiating warmth between them. “You don’t have to thank me for wanting to hang out with you,” Stiles laughed and shoved Derek playfully with his arm. “You’re fun.”

Derek enjoyed the fresh perspective. Most people hung out with him for recognition. He just knew Stiles wasn’t like that. He grabbed his phone to check the time. “Shit,” he said. “It’s 10:45”

“Already?,” Stiles said and peered over to look also. “I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.

Derek smiled and started grabbing his things. “I don’t want this to end, but I told Erica I’d be at her place by 11. I still have to go back to the hotel first.” 

“It’s okay,” Stiles said and stood up, though Derek could tell he was a bit disappointed at the news. 

Five minutes later Derek and Stiles were back on the boardwalk and walking in the hotel’s direction. They made sure to go extra slow, relishing in their last few moments of the night before parting. 

“Can we do this again?” Derek asked nervously as he threw his tank top over his shoulder and held his hoodie in his hand. His clothes were sandy, so he opted to keep the shirt off. Unfortunately, Stiles put back on his attire. 

“Um dude,” Stiles said with a pep in his step. “Of course. This was the most fun I’ve had in awhile.”

“Really?” Derek said. “Even though you have fifty roommates to entertain you back home?”

“Hey, only five,” Stiles teased back. “But this was just different. I haven’t been on a date in Lord knows how long.”

Derek stopped as they neared the hotel patio entrance. He didn’t want to get too close in fear of someone he knew spotting them together. “Is this that?” he started. “A date?”

He waited impatiently for Stiles’s response, but was only met with a big grin. “I’d like it to be,” Stiles replied with a slight rosy tint to his cheeks. “Do you?”

Derek nodded, his lips upturning a bit. Stiles beamed, and oh how he wished to kiss it right off of his face, but Derek scolded himself, reminding his thoughts to take it slow. 

Stiles then reached for Derek’s hand and pried his cell phone out of it. After aiming it at Derek’s face to unlock the device, he typed something in quickly then handed it back. “This is my number. With our luck, though, I’ll see you again very soon.”

Derek looked at the ten digits under the contact name ‘Stiles’ with a surfing and heart emoji. “I hope so,” he said. 

To Derek’s dismay, Stiles slowly started to walk backwards, waving to Derek with a smirk on his face. “Bye Derek.”

Derek waved back and clutched his phone to his chest, missing Stiles already. “Bye,” he called out. Once Stiles turned around and headed off, Derek didn’t take his eyes off of him until he was a speck amongst the crowd. 

…

Erica opened the front door of her apartment before Derek could even knock, his fist suspended in the air. She dragged him inside eagerly, allowing him only seconds to take off his shoes and put his stuff down before pulling him down onto her couch and staring at him with awaiting eyes. 

“Nice to see you too,” Derek joked. “Where’s Boyd?”

“Night shift at the fire department,” Erica said with a brush of her hand. “Now you know what I want to hear mister so get talking.”

So Derek did. He spilled every detail about his night, from how amazing Stiles looked to how the guy made him feel. Reminiscing it, even though Derek had seen Stiles 30 minutes before, made him long to be back with the man. “It was perfect,” Derek finished. “Like really perfect.”

Erica squealed and pulled Derek in for a tight hug, nearly suffocating him to death. She only pulled back when he started wheezing and got up excitedly, disappearing into the kitchen for a second. Erica reappeared with a bottle of white wine in one hand and two glasses in another. “You have no idea how happy this makes me,” she said as she poured them both some. Derek accepted it zealously and took a long sip. “You need this, babe. No offense, but I haven’t seen you willingly accept someone romantically into your life in...like ever.”

“Hey!” Derek groaned. “I’ve been on plenty of dates.”

Erica scrunched up her nose. “Well,” she said in a high pitched tone. “You can’t lie and tell me you didn’t decline when they asked for a second date, though.”

Derek peered down into his glass with a pout. “They just weren’t my type. One girl only talked about the amount of plastic surgery she’d had and this other dude was on his phone. You can’t blame me!”

“I’m not,” Erica said and patted his cheek tenderly and positioned her body so her back was against the armrest and her feet were in Derek’s lap. “You’re just also forgetting about the very kind and genuine people who you _still_ turned down. The fact that Stiles is making you feel this way is great, Der, and shows that he’s different.”

Derek couldn’t deny what she was saying. He was really bad in the dating pool, but also didn’t have an amazing track record. Sure, he’d had one night stands, sometimes even two nights, but he didn’t want to treat Stiles like that.

With a loud groan, Derek tipped his head back and shut his eyes. “Who am I Erica,” he muttered. “How can I let someone I just met have this much of an effect on me?”

“You’re you, and _human_ ,” Erica said with a laugh. “Which is a lot different from the many barbie and ken doll robots that saunter around the hotel. Now, how about some ice cream and I put on The Proposal?”

“Perfect,” Derek said. He allowed himself to relax into Erica’s couch as they chilled all night. As much as Derek tried to focus on the movie, there was still one brown-eyed boy occupying his mind, but he wasn’t mad about it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very long chapter with a lot happening, but hope you enjoy! Also it would be very helpful to hear back about the length of the chapters. Are they too long? Not long enough? Or perfect as they are? I want to know!

The two men stayed true to their promise of seeing each other again...a lot. Everyday the rest of the week, Derek found some way to see Stiles. Whether it was late night swims, boardwalk hang outs, or him sneakily watching Stiles surf from the beach, he made sure to carve out a chunk of his day for Stiles time. 

The bonfire was approaching fast though, and Rebecca barely let Derek get away sometimes. She was the last person he wanted finding out about Stiles, so he carefully escaped their conversations and ran far away before going to see him. 

So he conspired with Erica, Laura, and Cora, knowing there was no way in hell he was going to the bonfire with the socialite. They came up with a plan to find a hot, muscular, desperate man to replace Derek. Rebecca had to want him more so she didn’t follow through on her threat to spit lies to her father. 

“Oh!” Erica chimed in. The four were sitting around a table on the back patio. Derek was anxiously checking his phone. He told Stiles he would meet him after Stiles finished work, and that was in ten minutes. “I have the perfect candidate. This guy named Marcus works with Boyd, and he tries to get with any female on two legs. You wouldn’t believe the rage in Boyd’s eyes when I went to bring him lunch once and Marcus followed me into the lady’s room. Total creep, but who wouldn’t want a sexy firefighter to take them to the bonfire? Plus his family’s hella loaded.”

“Sounds great to me,” Derek said while standing up, not really focused on the conversation. The girls all gave him confused looks as to where he was so hastily trying to run off to. “Um, Erica, you talk to Boyd about that and bring Marcus to the hotel. Laura and Cora, you work on getting him to ask Rebecca to the bonfire. I have to run.”

Erica was the only one who caught on, giving Derek a smug grin and a wink. He tried to not let her facial expression affect him, instead just kissing each girl on the cheek and running off, leaving the blonde to answer his sisters’ burning questions.

Derek ran down the boardwalk. It was a beautiful day, so he didn’t grow too sweaty as he made it to Mama’s--the actual shop, not the snack shack. Derek put a hand out to open the door, then immediately snatched it back. If Stiles was on shift, one of his friends probably was too. They didn’t exactly want them finding out about their budding friendship yet to save Derek from the judgemental looks. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Derek fished it out to see a text from Stiles.

_I can see you outside stalker ;P come in, the girl in here about to take the next shift doesn’t pay attention to anyone who walks through those doors_

Derek grinned and opened the door to the surf shop. Immediately, he was hit with the smell of coconut and surf wax and The Beach Boys blaring through overhead speakers. Stiles was behind the counter, which was decorated with hula grass and painted on top with tiny surfboards and waves. The shelves and racks were fully stocked with wax, wetsuits, boogie boards, skimboards, and every piece of gear a surfer or ocean lover would need. The actual big surfboards and stand-ups were all behind the counter, lined up and suspended on the walls to show them off. 

“This place is so cool,” Derek said as he looked around. 

Stiles shrugged with a smile. “It is indeed,” he said. “I love it here, feels like a second home. Now give me a sec.” He disappeared into a back room for only a little, returning with a backpack on his back and hauling two large stand up paddleboards behind him. 

“What’s this?” Derek asked curiously. 

“This,” Stiles replied with a groan as he lugged the boards over to a garage type door, “is our plan for the day. What do you say to some stand up in the lagoon?” 

The shit-eating, giddy grin on Stiles’ face made it impossible to say no, but Derek didn’t want to disagree anyways. “Absolutely,” he said and helped Stiles lug the boards out and into the parking lot behind the shop. Stiles walked over to a light blue, old-looking jeep and stepped on a tire to stand over the roof of the car. 

“Welcome to my baby,” he said and gave the car a pat. “Mind lifting the boards up here? You got the muscles.” He ended his sentence with a wink that sent butterflies in Derek’s stomach.

The hotel heir eagerly grabbed one of the large wooden boards and lifted it over his head. Stiles helped him maneuver it on top of the car, where the man strapped them in. The second one came next with ease. Stiles hopped down once both were strapped up and ran back inside for a second. He came back with two paddles and closed the garage behind him. 

“I’m officially off of work and yours for the day,” he said and motioned for Derek to hop in the passenger seat. 

“You better be,” Derek replied.

The jeep was small and old, and Derek was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to make that clanking sound when driving, but it was so Stiles. It smelled like him: salt, sunscreen, and coconut. As they turned onto the main beach road and headed towards the lagoon 15 minutes away, Stiles cranked up his radio and started singing along. Derek couldn’t help but smile at his slightly off-pitch voice, but carefree attitude. The windows were rolled down, warm air circulating through the car, blowing Stiles’ floppy hair around. He was perfect. 

They arrived at the lagoon and fortunately the parking lot was only half full. Most tourists stayed on the beach and boardwalk, not knowing that 15 minutes on the other side of a hill was a beautiful lagoon sheltered by the cliff sides. The water was more still here, so many locals and instructors came to paddle board or kayak. 

Stiles put the car in park and hopped out, Derek following suit. They got the boards down together just as easily as they got them up. 

Stiles left his backpack in the car and took off his shoes. He stripped off his t-shirt and started to apply sunscreen. Derek caught himself staring at the man’s shirtless surfer body. He thought it should be an official law that Stiles Stilinski was never allowed to wear a shirt again. 

Derek started to take off his shirt too, and his own staring was nothing compared to Stiles’s. The guy wasn’t even trying to be subtle, even throwing in a wolf whistle that made Derek duck his head. 

“How are you single?” Stiles asked genuinely. 

Derek shrugged. “Like I said, right person.” He added in a wink, causing Stiles’s face to heat up. Payback. 

“Mind getting my back?” Stiles held out his bottle of sunscreen. Derek gladly took it and squeezed out a bit into his hand. When Stiles turned around, he decided he was really attracted to backs at that moment. Hesitantly touching Stiles’s back, the man flinching slightly from the cold liquid, Derek slowly rubbed the sunscreen all around, relishing in the way Stiles’s smooth skin felt under his palms. 

It was over too soon, but Stiles motioned for Derek to turn around and returned the favor. Derek’s back was a lot of surface area to cover, so he heard Stiles refill his palm with sunscreen a couple times. Although it was an innocent gesture, the calloused surfer hands worked their magic, each touch sending electricity through Derek. 

“All set,” Stiles said. He threw the bottle into the back of the jeep and locked the car up. The pair both grabbed a board and paddle and made their way down the wooden steps to the beach. There were a few people wading and some far off on boards, so Derek and Stiles found a spot away from others. “Have you done this before?” Stiles asked as he waded into the water until it was hip height and put his board down. It swayed up and down with the tame ripples of the lagoon. He kept his hand on it to keep it stable. 

Derek nodded and walked into the water as well. “Oh yeah, I love it,” he said excitedly, feeling like a child allowed to play with his favorite toy at recess.

Stiles laughed and gave him a fond smile before getting onto the board, sitting on his knees. He gripped the paddle in both hands and gave himself a big push to break the waves until he was further out into the tame water. “Then you better show me what you got Hale!” he called back. 

Derek chuckled and dropped the paddleboard into the ocean with a plop. He got on, engaging his core to stay balanced, and rapidly pushed the paddle into the water to propel him forward. He caught up, sending a little splash with his paddle that left Stiles gasping in shock.

“No one splashes me and gets away with it,” Stiles said with a maniacal smile. “You’ll learn that.” He hopped to his feet, balancing expertly as the water rocked the board, and paddled towards Derek.

“Then _show me what you got_ ,” Derek mocked the previous words, using all of his strength to escape. Derek hadn’t laughed so much in so long, not since he had had adventures like this with his dad. Stiles really brought out the inner child in him that the lifestyle he lived beat out of him. 

They paddle boarded for what felt like hours before carrying the boards back up to the sand and sitting on them, taking in the setting sun over the lagoon. Derek had a sore knee from where he banged it on the side of the board after Stiles deliberately pushed him off. He didn’t care though. 

He only cared about cherishing the time they had left, as his mother wanted him back at the hotel for another party on the outside patio. Derek tried to not let it bombard his mind, worrying about who he was going to run into and what excuse he’d make for disappearing into town for hours, telling no one where he went. Erica was probably covering for him if his family was concerned. God bless that woman. For now, Derek looked over at Stiles, only to discover the man was looking at him first. They smiled at each other, an unspoken pact between them to remember this moment together. “How are you so good at this,” Derek started. “At making me forget every bad thing in my life?”

Stiles put his head on his knees and turned it towards Derek, an action that shouldn’t have been so adorable on a 22-year-old man as it was. “I just live life with the attitude that any day could be your last.”

“I like that,” said Derek. The mentality he had lived by was probably unhealthy: dreading facing the world every day in fear of disappointing his family even more. Perhaps it was time to change. 

They gathered their things and headed towards the jeep. After tying the boards up and throwing the paddles into the back, the two turned towards the sunset again and let the last of the warm rays warm their faces. Just then, a large black van roared into the parking lot, a man leaning out the passenger side window with a camera and looking around like he was trying to find someone. 

“Ah shit,” Derek said and ducked down behind the jeep. Stiles looked at him confused and let out a yelp as Derek pulled him down too.

“What is it?” asked Stiles.

Derek held a finger up to his lips and pointed at the van. The two men in it were standing on the pavement of the parking lot now about ten spots away, only two cars actually separating them, though, thanks to the emptiness of the lagoon. “Paparazzi,” he grimaced, able to recognize the media anywhere.

“Hey! Have you seen Derek Hale?” he overheard the man who had been driving ask a group of teenagers coming up from the beach. “We got a tip he was here with someone. It would be big news if you kids could help us out.”

Derek didn’t give them time to wait for the teenagers’ responses, instead motioning for Stiles to hurry into the jeep and start it. Luckily, the paparazzi were angled where they’d only be able to see the driver’s side. 

And they indeed looked at it. “Hey!” the men called to Stiles and started to walk over. 

Derek was on the other side, so he couldn’t see what was going on. He was able to whisper “Act like you don’t know me” quickly to Stiles before they got into earshot. 

“Have you seen Derek Hale here at all?” one of the guys asked. All Derek prayed was that they didn’t walk around to the other side of the car, or they’d find the man they were looking for crouched down on the ground.

“Sorry dude,” Stiles said nonchalantly, no give away in his voice. “Haven’t seen him recently, but I might’ve seen a man that looked like him head up the cliffside? Maybe try there.” Stiles should be an actor. Derek let out a tiny sigh of relief as the convincing story came out of the guy’s mouth. 

There was a slight pause. “Hm,” the other guy chimed in. “Why do you have two boards and paddles up there? Seems pretty inconvenient if you were out here on your own.”

Derek held his breath, waiting for Stiles to break. He surely would’ve under the pressure. 

“Ah that,” Stiles said as cool as a cucumber. “My brother was out here with me, had to run quickly so I said I’d take ‘em home.”

The lie seemed to convince the paparazzi enough. They just thanked Stiles and walked off towards the beach. Derek peered under the car at their feet getting further and further away before sliding into the passenger side. Stiles hopped in a second later and started the car, backing out of the parking spot as quickly as he could. 

“Thank you for that,” Derek said graciously as they turned onto the main road. “If they saw us together, our picture would be on the cover of US Weekly by tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Stiles said, stealing a glance at Derek quickly. “Does that happen a lot?”

Derek sighed, peering out the open window at the ocean as the wind ruffled his hair. “Only when they get a load of something really juicy. Like today, they said someone saw me with someone, with you. I’m no Kardashian or J-Lo, far from it, so they don’t care about my everyday activities, just the gossip.”

Stiles nodded, turning up the radio a bit. His skin was slightly darker from the day in the sun, a tint of pink dusting his shoulders and nose. “That must suck, I’m sorry,” he said earnestly. “What an invasion of privacy. I hate the media.”

“Tell me about it.”

…

Later that night, Derek found himself caught in a conversation with Peter and a group of businessmen he didn’t care about. He made eye contact with Erica who was working the outside bar, sending a cry of help that just had her mouthing ‘sorry’ in his direction. 

“So Derek,” one of the men--Ted maybe? Or was it Todd--said and grabbed Derek’s shoulder in that sort of way your father did when he said ‘I’m proud of you son’. “Your uncle here has been telling us so many great things about you. Are you excited to run this place with him soon?”

Derek smiled through his teeth, grip tightening around his glass of whiskey. “Absolutely,” he lied, wanting to be anywhere other than caught in this conversation.

Well, by anywhere he means with Stiles. He would rather be with Stiles. 

Because luck was on his side tonight, Derek managed to slip away once they got caught talking about golf, a topic he wasn’t too educated on, and nearly ran to the bar. “Hey,” he greeted Erica, who was pouring an array of drinks into nearly twenty glasses in front of her. “Any update on Marcus?”

Erica smirked as she topped a glass with an orange peel. “Boyd’s on his way with him right now. Don’t worry, he’s eager to meet Rebecca after he showed him her social media. He said, and I quote, ‘wow bro look at the melons on that babe! I’d hit’. Real classy in my opinion.”

Derek rolled his eyes and turned to the party. He spotted Rebecca on the other side chatting with a group of women who looked like younger versions of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Hopefully this plan with Marcus worked to save Derek from the agony of taking the girl to the bonfire. His eyes darted to Cora next, who was giggling over something Isaac said. Then Laura. She was double fisting two gimlets, slightly swaying on her feet as she chatted with a group of people. 

“Derek,” a voice came from behind him. The man turned around to be met with his mother’s elegant presence. She was dressed in a long sleeve green dress that hugged her body. It would’ve looked juvenile on any other mom, but Talia wore it with a maturity that ran the room. His mother ordered a martini before turning back to her son. “I’m surprised you made it.”

“Why’s that?” Derek asked with an eyebrow raise, nursing the drink in his hand. 

Talia shrugged and joined him in staring out at the party. “Oh you know,” she said. “You’ve just been running off so much recently.” She didn’t look at him, but the pointed look on her face told Derek she knew how his face was paling. Like he thought earlier, he cracks under pressure. Where were Stiles’s acting skills when he needed them? “Care to tell me where?”

Her voice was an oozing cocktail of curiosity, disappointment, and degradation that made Derek squirm. “Just like to get out into town to escape the hotel sometimes,” he said, hopefully convincing enough.

Talia hummed and accepted her martini with a smile. Erica clearly was eavesdropping, a slight twitch of nervousness to her movements as she handed the hotel owner the drink. “It seems to be a lot more now than usual,” his mother said. “And usually you at least tell Laura where you’ve been if not me.”

Derek shrugged, using his drink as a facade to the obviously tense state he was in as he took a large swig. “Didn’t know you or my sister needed to know where your adult son was at all times, mother,” he said with perhaps a bit more bite than he should’ve. “I have a life outside of the hotel, believe it or not, unlike you.” That was definitely further than he should’ve. Talia turned to him, eyes wide in surprise and mouth agape like she was struggling to find the words to reply. Derek didn’t make eye contact, but instead excused himself to join Cora and Isaac without another word. 

“Hey D,” Cora greeted him. Isaac gave a polite head nod in acknowledgement. “What’s got your panties in a twist grumpy pants?”

Derek huffed and downed the rest of his whiskey, tipsy enough that the burn of the alcohol traveling down his throat barely affected him. “Just can’t get any damn privacy these days.”

“Geez, not the aggressive response I was expecting, but word to that,” Cora said. “I got to run to the bathroom, so you two have fun.” She sent a subtle wink in Derek’s direction. Once again with privacy. Cora was still trying to get him with Isaac after he very clearly stated he didn’t want her meddling in his lovelife. 

Isaac cleared his throat awkwardly. “Sooo,” the curly-haired boy drew out. “Are you excited for the bonfire in a couple days?”

A loud breath of air came out of Derek. “Sure,” he deadpanned, staring down into his empty glass, maybe hoping it would magically turn into a dark pit that would swallow him whole. “Only if I can get Rebecca Davenport to go with someone else.”

“Dude!” Isaac exclaimed, the energy of the conversation doing a full 360 that made Derek’s prominent eyebrows rise up to his hairline. “Rebecca’s on you now, huh? That chick bothered me for _months_ last year. My dad represented her dad for a tax fraud case within the Davenport’s company. She saw me once at his office and found me on all social media the day after. I feel for you man.”

Derek was definitely more invested in their chat now. Isaac actually seemed pretty cool, even earning a slight upturn of Derek’s mouth that changed it from a scowl to a slightly smaller scowl. “Wow,” he said. “She’s actually insane. She even _threatened_ me, like can you believe it?” The pair found themselves sitting down on the ledge of a short wall outlining the property, growing more comfortable than the awkward state Cora left them in. “My friend and sisters are helping me set her up with someone else tonight. I think that’s him over there, actually.”

He pointed to where Rebecca was. The Beverly Hills group was now replaced with Boyd introducing what Derek assumed was Marcus. The man looked eager as ever to duck down and plant a kiss to the socialite’s hand that left her looking impressed and interested. That was a win in Derek’s book. Boyd walked away to let them mingle, but Derek kept his eyes on the pair. 

“Looks like a good match,” Isaac said with a laugh. “The dude’s hot, she’ll definitely give in. Unfortunately looks are the only thing a lot of people go off of these days.”

Boy did that sure earn a glass raise, even if said glass was empty. “Amen,” said Derek. “Cora told me you’re single at the moment.” Isaac ducked his head and nodded, slightly embarrassed to be called out. “Sorry if that’s prying. You know Cora, big mouth and all.” Speaking of his sister, she was taking a suspiciously long time in the bathroom.

“It’s okay, really,” Isaac chuckled. “Yeah, you could say I’m in the market. Cora actually...she told me I should go out with you. No offense, you’re super nice and all, just not really my type.”

It would be a lie to say Derek wasn’t a bit surprised. Isaac’s opinion was refreshing, though. For so long, Derek had been ‘everybody’s type’ (not his words, many people have literally told him he was everyone’s type) and he was pretty sick of it. He wanted friends more than romantic suitors, which was another big reason he was so pissed at Cora for forcing Isaac into his life to be one of them. Now that they actually got to talk on their own without the devilish ways of his little sister circling them like a hawk to its prey, this felt more like the beginnings of a friendship than a budding romance. 

“Well no offense, but same,” Derek said, but lightheartedly. He was answered with a laugh from Isaac, and all tension was out of the air. He had a good feeling about the guy, like an _Erica_ good feeling, and that didn’t happen often...or at all, really. Derek’s close friends list was limited to just the blonde. Although, Boyd was probably very close to making it with how often Derek was at Erica’s place to spill gossip and have a home away from the hotel. The man was of few words, though, so it’s not like him and Derek hung out alone much to divulge in their deepest, darkest, secrets. 

“No one else out there?” Isaac asked. 

Yes. Yes there was someone out there that immediately came to Derek’s mind, all silky skin and lean muscle and--there he went waxing poetic again in his head. “Not yet,” was all Derek said out loud. 

“Miss me?” Cora reappeared, a glassy and bloodshot look to her eyes that said exactly what she had been doing in ‘the bathroom’ that long. 

Derek rolled his eyes, used to the antics. Isaac seemed to empathize with the look they shared, both fondly smiling at the girl. Yeah, he was definitely a good one to keep around. “Come on,” Isaac said to the youngest Hale and ushered her towards the hotel. “Let’s get you out of here before your mom sees you.” As the pair left, Derek mouthed a silent thank you. He trusted his sister was in good hands, and Talia would for sure be peeved if she saw her daughter high at a function surrounded by respected members of their elite society.

A vibration in his back pocket made Derek set down the empty glass that was still sitting in his hands and fish his phone out. The contact name on the screen made his heart flutter. 

_how’s the party?_

It was a short text with no underlying meetings, but it told Derek that Stiles was thinking about him and genuinely curious as to how his night was.

_meh. Dodged some rich white guys and sorta insulted my mother, but i think i made a new friend_

_aw, Der Der made a fwend? good job buddy! ;)_

_don’t patronize me Stilinski, I am not a six year old at his first day of school_

_couldn’t help myself :P but i’m glad one good thing has come out of the night. Is it too soon to say I miss you though?_

Derek’s breath hitched at the last sentence. Stiles missed him. It wasn’t just one-sided with him always on Derek’s mind. They missed each other, and if that wasn’t the best news he’d heard all night he didn’t know what was. 

_not at all, i miss you too. Trust me i’d much rather be back with you than pretending to care about rich people’s conversations_

_wow i’m flattered, but me too. I’m stuck at home with the smell of jackson’s burnt popcorn filling up the house_

_i actually feel bad for you. Don’t inhale too many fumes or they’ll go to your head_

_wouldn’t wanna get any crazier than i already am :D_

“What’s got you cheesin’ baby bro?” Laura came out of nowhere and sat down, nearly spilling her drink (now a Sex on the Beach) in the process. 

Derek hastily turned off his phone before she could peep at any of his messages. “Woah there,” he said and held out his hands as she almost fell backwards. “Nothing. I think you should be cut off after this.”

His sister frantically shook her head, a dizzy look in her eyes after doing so. “Absofruitly not,” she slurred. “I’m sooo okay I promise. We’re basically like, home, so it’s totally cool Der Bear.” Oh boy how he hated that nickname. It only came out of drunk Laura at least, but just brought Derek back to the embarrassing memories of her calling him it in middle school in front of everyone. 

So he had one drunk sister and one high. Derek was looking like the real golden child now besides the sorta secret almost relationship he was hiding. “Absolutely yes,” he said. Even sitting a couple feet apart, Derek could smell the alcohol heavy on Laura’s breath. “I’m telling Erica to not give you any more.” Laura pouted at him, fake puppy dog eyes fixated on convincing her brother to not betray her minor drinking addiction. “Those don’t work on me anymore.”

“Whatever,” Laura huffed, accepting defeat. She looked down at her cocktail and made a sad face. “I must cherish you baby.”

“Good news in the Rebecca department,” Derek distracted her and pointed to the girl on the other side of the large patio. Her and Marcus were giggling to each other, both clearly intoxicated. He whispered something in her ear which made Rebecca’s face light up, then they were running away towards the hotel. 

“Hell yeah,” Laura said and tried to high five Derek, but her hand completely missed him by a good foot. “You’re a single, free man now bro.”

Derek smiled to himself. Hopefully the single part wouldn’t last for too long. “Yeah, for now.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some big angst and drama in this chapter finally beginning! Hope you enjoy.

“Look!”

Derek nearly spat out his smoothie as a phone was shoved into his face. He glared at Erica, who was sitting across from him but still managed to completely lean over the table into his space. He caved in and grabbed the phone, looking down at a picture of Rebecca by the pool, the caption ‘my date for tonight’ below with fire and drooling emojis to accompany it. 

“This was posted on Marcus’s snapchat about five minutes ago,” Erica said with a smirk as she sat back down. She continued to flip through her phone with both hands, chasing her smoothie straw with her tongue until she could take a sip. “Looks like you’re officially off the hook.”

They were currently sitting outside of a local smoothie shop a couple of blocks away from the hotel and the boardwalk. Derek would never get over the amazing ocean view he had been blessed to be born in front of, but it was nice getting deeper into the streets beyond the hotel: to a wider variety of restaurants and shops and expensive apartments. 

“Yep,” Derek said with a grin. “She just texted me.” He held his phone up too without being as invasive as the blonde was. 

_unfortunately i can’t be your date to the bonfire tonight. sorry to disappoint, but i can’t wait to still see you there ;)_

He ignored the suggestive wink at the end, just liking the message instead of putting in the time to reply. Erica rolled her eyes, but threw in a celebratory fist bump to commemorate freeing Derek from the suffocating reigns of Rebecca Davenport. He had a feeling it wasn’t totally over yet, though. 

“Well now that the plan has officially gone through, we need to go shopping!” Erica hopped to her feet, pulling down her cut-off jean shorts that barely covered her ass and sipping the last of her smoothie before throwing it into a nearby trash can. “You are not just wearing another zip up over a wife beater and calling it ‘casual chic’. Unacceptable.”

“Hey!” Derek exclaimed, slightly offended. He tossed his empty cup away and followed her down the street. “It’s a bonfire, not New York Fashion Week.”

“Wow,” Erica said, holding a hand up to her chest, mouth agape. “I’m surprised you even know what that is.” She grabbed his hand and yanked him into a set of open doors. The cold air conditioning hit Derek’s skin, eliciting a layer of goosebumps before he got used to it. They were in a beachy boutique that was crowded with a majority of women. “Come on, they have a good men’s section in the back.”

Derek allowed himself to be thrown into Erica’s personal fashion show. She gave him a stack of clothes and practically shoved him into an empty dressing room. The quicker he tried on the outfits and gave the girl what she wanted, the quicker he could get out of here. 

The first look consisted of khaki shorts way too high up on Derek’s muscular thighs and a floral button up straight out of a hawaiian tourist advertisement. They shared a look that immediately said no, and Derek did a full 180 back into the dressing room.

Second was a green v-neck that was so low it only reminded Derek of his Uncle Peter. Erica verbally shared his thoughts, grimacing at the shirt and dismissing the man to change. 

The third outfit was a lot more comfortable. The bottoms were a dark grey bathing suit this time, exactly what Derek wanted for a _beach_ party. On top he sported a loose, sheer white button up that he was pretty sure showed what was underneath very clearly, but the fabric was cool and breathable.

“Oh yes!” Erica said and gave him a look over. “If I wasn’t hopelessly in love with Boyd and didn’t see you as a brother, I may actually be into you. I know Stiles will _love_ this one.” The wink she sent his way made Derek throw the discarded v-neck at her face. She just laughed it off and walked up to him, taking the top buttons into her fingers. “Especially like this.” Erica proceeded to unbutton nearly half of the buttons on the shirt, exposing Derek’s chest and a good portion of his abs. “That’s hot.”

Derek turned to look in the mirror. He couldn’t say she was wrong. He did look good, so good he kind of couldn’t wait to show the look off to Stiles. The bright white color of the flowy fabric made his skin look extra tan, especially after all the beach time he was getting with said boy lately. His body was very on display, but he had worked hard for it; why not show it off sometimes? As for the bottoms, the bathing suit didn’t look obviously like a bathing suit and fit Derek’s legs and butt as good as they could. He had to admit it was perfect.

“Yeah, you know you’re hot,” Erica teased. “Come on, go and say it. Say you’re hot.”

Derek hit her again, but couldn’t stop the slight blush dusting his cheeks.

…

_you’re going tonight, right?_

_Of course. Erica even got me a new outfit for it, although I think she’s trying to turn me into a tropical porn star_

_i don’t think anyone’s complaining :) now I can’t wait to see it_

_Just want me for my body, huh Stilinski?_

_can you blame me? look in a mirror Hale_

The butterflies rising in Derek’s stomach lingered as he walked through the hotel lobby. Erica had gone home to get ready, even though the bonfire wasn’t for another four hours. She claimed her hair alone was going to take three of them. 

Derek made his way behind the front desk and into the back hallways designated for employees and business meetings only. He was hoping to catch his mother in her office before she headed out for her weekly happy hour with a group of Malibu country club tennis moms. 

He stopped in his tracks as he passed Peter’s office, though. The man’s door was slightly open, and the glass was fogged so Derek couldn’t see inside, but he heard two distinct voices. One was his uncle’s of course, but Derek was more concerned as to what the voices were saying. 

“I told you Ted, this stays between us for now,” Peter was saying in a serious tone. Derek couldn’t help but stop and flatten his body against the wall to eavesdrop. “I can’t have my sister finding out quite yet until I can get her an offer she can’t refuse. She has this stick up her ass about keeping the hotel in the family, but ever since my brother in law passed the place has fallen to shit under her part in the management. We’re losing more money than we ever had, and now she wants to pass it on to my nephew? He doesn’t know the first thing about running this place.” 

Derek kept a hand over his own mouth to quiet his heavy breathing. Peter’s words brought a pit to his stomach that made him want to barge in there and tell the man off, not caring if he was family. 

“I’ve set up a meeting with interested buyers,” the other man, Ted, answered. Derek recognized his voice as the businessman he briefly talked to the night before. “I’ll keep it lowkey for now, but you will have to get Talia to sign off on selling her share of the Lunar Coast.”

“Yes I know,” Peter replied. “I think she’s so stressed about her rebellious children and the responsibility of running this place, she’ll be easy to convince. Unlike her, I don’t get distracted by family sentimentals. This has always been about the money to me.”

The men chuckled, and Derek bolted down the hallway. How dare his own uncle go behind his mom’s back, behind all of their backs. Derek was fuming, the feeling of needing to punch a wall growing in his mind. He could see the nameplate on his mother’s office from where he was stopped in the hall, but decided against going to see her in fear he would crack and throw a fit. This would crush Talia, so Derek had to find out more for himself first. 

Instead, Derek turned back towards the front desk, then took a sharp turn towards the outside patio. He grimaced all the way until his feet hit the sand off of the hotel steps. The sand was cool under his toes as the sun started to set on the other side of town. Derek plopped down by the ocean. At this time of day, the beach was fairly empty, only a few people remained: a group of girls asleep from their earlier tanning plans, some surfers hitting last minute waves, and a fully dressed clan of older men nursing beers for a happy hour. 

Derek let the sounds of the waves and seagulls fill his mind and closed his eyes. He brought his knees up to his chest and rested his head on them. The constant buzzing in his pocket was most likely the group chat with Cora, Laura, and their bonfire group putting together the last of the plans to arrive together. He ignored it, though, instead opting to only focus on the vast, neverending, body of water in front of him. 

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Derek looked up to see Isaac’s tall frame standing over him. The man seemed to be already dressed for the bonfire tonight in a sky blue button up and khaki shorts, skin smelling of cologne and a pair of birks in hand. “Just thinking about the ocean,” was all Derek gave away. 

“Mind if I join you?” Isaac asked innocently and happily sat down at Derek’s slight nod. “It’s a great thing to think about.”

“Hm,” Derek responded. “I miss it.”

This peaked Isaac’s interest, who seemed to want to play therapist at the moment. “Why do you say that? It’s right there.” Well, bless his heart for trying.

Derek gave him a look that said ‘duh’. He dug his toes deeper into the cold, damp sand. “I know. I miss...I miss surfing in it. I haven’t been since I was 16.”

Isaac stared out into the water too, wind ruffling his dirty blonde curls. “I remember that,” he said, and at Derek’s curious glance elaborated with, “You were a legend in the Venice Cup. I figured when I brought it up it triggered something, and I’m sorry for that.”

Derek peeled his eyes off of the water to give Isaac a sympathetic half-smile. “Don’t be, you didn’t realize,” he said, trying to make the guy feel better. 

“Why not get back into it?” Isaac asked, curiously. “It’s been eight years, and I’m not trying to tell you to get over your grief, but nothing will heal if you don’t trigger the process.”

The words took Derek by slight surprise at how... _right_ they were. He knew that living a life fearful of getting back up on a surfboard in case it triggered painful memories of his dad wouldn’t fix anything. He never really expressed his fears, too, not even to Erica. Derek’s family knew, though, that Derek’s past in surfing was a painful topic in their household. 

“You’re right,” he responded to Isaac. “That’s just a lot easier said than done.”

“I know,” Isaac said and stood to his feet, brushing the sand off on his shorts. “I’m a big believer in baby steps, though. It took me a while after my mom passed to step foot in the garden she cared for in our backyard. So every day I would get a little closer until eventually I dug out the dead flowers to bring life back to something we had shared together. Just a thought to hold onto.” He proceeded to just squeeze Derek’s shoulder and walk towards the Lunar Coast.

Isaac’s words echoed in Derek’s mind. _Nothing will heal if you don’t trigger the process._ For so long, Derek thought he could never go back to surfing until the grief had surpassed. The truth was, though, grief never disappears 100%. He had lost his best friend, but that didn’t mean every memory they shared had to be scarred. 

Derek reached for his phone again, swiping away the group chat and clicking on Stiles’s contact name. 

_I want to surf with you_

His thumb hovered over the send button for a couple seconds. Did he want to? He did. If there was one person that could make him feel comfortable on a board again, he just had a gut feeling it was Stiles. Erica was his closest friend, but she barely knew how to float on a boogie board. Derek took a deep breath and hit send, then stood up to go get ready. 

On his way to the elevators, his phone dinged with a response. 

_Just give me a time and place :D_

Derek found himself smiling as the elevator doors started to slide shut. A loud “wait!” wiped it off his face though, and a hand appeared out of nowhere, forcing the doors back open. It was Rebecca, dressed in the same teal bikini featured in Marcus’s snap from earlier. She was clearly surprised by Derek’s presence, but as the elevator closed completely, her shock turned into a seductive grin. Derek just bit back a groan. 

“Hey Derek,” she said, very obviously adjusting her bikini top so that her chest stuck out more. “Sorry about dumping you for the bonfire tonight. I promise it was nothing personal, but this new guy just seemed way more into me. I know you’re just playing hard to get, though.”

Derek remained stoic and stared forwards, not caring if his eyebrows came down to a slight glare. He didn’t respond to Rebecca, instead just watching as the floor numbers ticked up and up. 

“I still want to see you there, though,” she continued, clearly not receiving the message that he didn’t want to chat. “I heard tonight’s gonna be a wild one.” The door opened on a couple floors below the penthouse, and Rebecca started to walk out. “Save me a drink?” The last thing he saw was her wink and smirk at him with overdrawn lips. 

“What the hell is wrong with her,” Derek muttered to himself once he was alone for the rest of the ride up. 

He hopped off the elevator and walked through the big double doors of their penthouse. Laura was sitting on their large sectional in their very large living room, the last few rays of sun coming in through the three walls of bay windows, illuminating her face as she flipped through a gossip magazine, probably catching up on whatever the latest drama was in their socialite circle. 

“What’s up bitch,” she greeted him without even looking up. Her hair and makeup was done up and she was dressed in tiny, black jean shorts and a white bikini top. Over the top was a very see through grey coverup. As an older brother, Derek couldn’t help but think the outfit was slightly scandalous because of the tiny amount of fabric the designer of the bathing suit used. He had seen Laura wear this one before--the bottoms were basically a thong. 

“That’s what you’re wearing?” he asked protectively.

Laura stood up and rolled her eyes, throwing the magazine down onto the coffee table. “Yes you moralist,” his sister said. “I’m 26, which is older than you, and single as ever. I’m looking, practically _begging_ , to get laid tonight.”

Derek threw his hands up to his ears. “La la la la, I didn’t need to hear that!” he teased. His big sister hit his shoulder, but the smile on her face was fond. 

“Oh shut up!” Laura yelled. “When’s the last time you got laid, huh?”

“What’s this about Derek not getting laid?” Cora appeared out of nowhere. 

Derek rolled his eyes and flipped both of his sisters off. “I get plenty of action, thank you.”

“Not as much as our little sis here, though,” Laura said and jerked a thumb in Cora’s direction. “She gets around.”

Cora gaped and threw the nearest thing she could find at Laura’s head, which happened to be one of their mother’s high heels positioned at the door. The eldest Hale managed to dodge it just in time, but the shoe hit the wall with a smack. 

“Cora!” Laura exclaimed. “What the hell?!” Derek couldn’t hold in the laughter at both Cora’s pissed off expression and Laura nearly getting nailed with a heel.

“At least I’m the one in this house getting the most action out of all of us!” Cora fought back, mouth quivering between a scowl and a smile. “You’re days are limited old lady, and Derek here has a stick too far up his ass to give anyone the time of the day.”

Derek and Laura shared a look that told them they were thinking the exact same thing. The pair pounced on their younger sister, Laura grabbing her arms while Derek grabbed her legs. Cora squealed and laughed as her siblings carried her over to the couch and threw her down, then proceeded to dog pile on top of her. 

“Why the hell is Derek on top,” Cora groaned out, face muffled by Laura’s thigh on her head. “He’s like the goddamn Hulk.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Derek said and pushed his bodyweight a little down so that Cora let out a shriek. 

They remained like that, teasing and poking and tickling, until the three siblings were out of breath and on the floor, laughing. It felt good, really good. Derek hadn’t hung out with just his sisters in a while without friends or fancy parties surrounding them. He loved his sisters, loved how close the three of them were. There would always be things Derek wasn’t super comfortable talking to them about of course, but he knew they were loyal and wanted the best for him. A small part of Derek wished he could unleash it all right there on their living room floor, spill about Peter and the lifestyle they lived and Stiles--oh how he wished he could tell them about Stiles--but he couldn’t. His sisters looked out for him, which meant keeping him protected from the media by meddling in his business. 

“Now I have approximately one hour until the group arrives and we head to the bonfire, so I’m going to go finish making myself look appealing,” Cora said and jumped to her feet, disappearing down the hallway towards her room. 

Laura watched her go, sticking her tongue out after Cora’s retreating figure like the very mature 26-year-old she was. “You looking forward to tonight?” she said to Derek, both of them still seated on the plush carpet. “It’s always fun.”

Derek nodded, tipping his head back to stare out of the windows, the moon starting to appear above the horizon. “I am actually, especially now that I can just go with you guys.” And he really meant it. The bonfire had sounded like a dread before, but now Derek could relax and unwind and forget about Peter’s earlier conversation. Not to mention there would be enough alcohol to intoxicate everyone, so maybe he could find time to sneak Stiles away from his friends without them noticing. 

He really couldn’t wait to see Stiles. That was also a big reason why he was excited, but he kept that piece of information sealed away from Laura. He wanted to see what Stiles was wearing, wanted to dance with him all night long, go night swimming and not have a worry in the world. That was going to be easier said than done, though. 

Derek eventually stood up to go get ready himself. He closed his door behind him and opened up the shopping bag that held Erica’s outfit from the boutique. Derek slipped on the comfortable clothing and turned to look in his mirror. Hesitant hands came up to start undoing the buttons like the blonde had done earlier, and if Derek purposefully unbuttoned one or two more to show off just a _little_ more of his abs, well, no one had to know. 

...

The bonfire was at a secluded beach about a 20 minute walk away, no nearby houses to call the cops. Most of the locals, including the police department, knew about the party. It was impossible not to with all of the antics that go down, but they didn’t do much to stop hundreds of kids ages 16-26 who weren’t really hurting anyone. 

Derek and his group finally made it to the gravel make-shift parking lot. They had decided to all walk to limit any risk of drunk driving. Some people in town were not as smart, as the parking lot and sides of the street were packed with vehicles and pedestrians all heading towards a path that led down a cliffside to the beach. 

“Let’s get this started!” Cora hollered and she, Isaac, Molly, and Aaron ran to the path, disappearing over the hill. Laura and Derek took their time more, letting the younger group go ahead. Erica and Boyd had left a little after them from their apartment, but they were close behind.

“I cannot wait to get wasted and dance with whatever warm body I can get my hands on,” Laura said and spun in a circle, arms outstretched towards the sky, a bit tipsy already. They had all pregamed a bit on their walk over, and Derek discarded the grocery bag of svedka and white claws into a nearby dumpster already overflowing with bottles and cans. 

Once they made it down the path and their toes touched the sand, some glow sticks were shoved into Derek’s hand. Everyone was decked out in them. There was a loud DJ booth to the right on a small stage, and tiki torches lined the beach everywhere. A ginormous bonfire was further away from the dedicated dance space with some people roasting marshmallows and others just crowded around it screaming to the music. Even though it was a large beach, Derek felt like everywhere he went he was touching someone. The party felt even more crowded than the previous years, with more and more people hearing about it. 

One found all types of people at this party: the underage high schoolers giggling as they tip back bottles of malibu; horny couples grinding on the ‘dance floor’; some actual 21 and older young adults chatting around the fire with only beers in their hands; surfers piling up their boards near the water to get a drink before getting back out into the black ocean; and the stoners who were seated on the sand in a permanent cloud of smoke. Derek rolled his eyes as he saw Cora take a hit of something that a dude he had never seen before handed her. That was only the beginning of the list. 

“Can’t start the party without us!” Erica came up from behind, putting a hand on both Laura and Derek’s shoulders. Boyd was standing behind, glow stick already around his neck and less of a scowl on his face tonight than he usually sported. Dare Derek say the man was excited to be there. 

The four immediately found more alcohol. Laura took her red solo cup of some monster concoction and disappeared into the dancing crowd, already grinding against some guy. Derek pumped some beer out of a keg and tipped half of it back in one swig, feeling a slight buzz already from the pregame. 

“Where’s lover boy,” Erica slurred into his ear loudly over the bass-heavy music. Tequila was strong in her breath. Boyd had a tight arm around his girlfriend’s waist, but seemed to not be shocked by her words. Derek figured with how close the two were, the man probably knew all about Stiles too. He trusted Boyd, though. 

Derek looked around, curious to the answer of the question himself. “Beats me,” he said and shrugged. 

“Well I’m sure standing by the keg isn’t going to solve the problem,” Boyd said with a tight-lipped smirk. 

Derek downed the rest of his drink and immediately refilled it. “I know,” he huffed, but it sure would be easier to stand in one spot and let Stiles spot him first. 

“Well, if you aren’t going to move your ass to go find him, at least move it to dance!” Erica exclaimed and pulled the two boys to join Laura and some other familiar faces in the large mass of moving bodies. 

Everyone was so close, brushing against each other. The couple immediately pounced on each other, joining in the other horny pairs. Laura was still occupied with some man, a different one now though. Derek just tipped his head back and closed his eyes, jumping up and down to the beat as he tried to not give a care in the world about any of his problems. He was aware of hands grabbing him every which way. One girl ran her hand down his chest, pushing his thin shirt aside, but she was quickly swooped away by someone else. Cora, Molly, Isaac, and Aaron eventually found them in the middle of the crowd and joined in. His little sister danced between the two boys, and Molly immediately latched onto Derek. 

Derek tried to not push her away too obviously, but she was either drunk or high, or both, and took a liking to his body. She slithered one arm around his neck and the other on his chest and rocked back and forth to the music, eyes half open with lust and intoxication. That will truly heighten the inner feelings of someone. Derek wasn’t drunk enough for this. 

“I’m going to go refill,” he yelled into her ear so she’d hear him and slipped out from under her arms. Derek tried not to look back to see her hurt expression, but figured she’d move on pretty quickly and keep dancing. 

Derek stopped in his tracks on his way to the keg. Someone was already occupying it: a beautiful man clad in nothing but a pair of teal swim trunks with yellow pineapples over them and a cluster of glow sticks around his neck and wrists and haloed on his head...Stiles. His bare back was to Derek, but the man instantly recognized the muscular profile of the surfer. Also, his familiar white surfboard was laying on the ground next to him. 

The only problem was that Stiles was surrounded by all of his friends. Scott was laughing at something the guy said, a pretty brunette on his arm that Derek assumed was Allison. Lydia was on Stiles’s other side, what he also assumed was Jackson close behind her, whispering something in her ear that made the redhead roll her eyes and smack him in the chest. One last girl was closer to Stiles, filling up her cup after him and making fond eyes at the boy. Derek knew that look because it was the same one he caught himself making at Stiles. That must’ve been Malia. 

Stiles then turned around and made direct eye contact with Derek, face shocked before giving him a once over and smirking approvingly. Derek saw him mouth something that looked like ‘catch you by the water’, then the group headed off towards the ocean, Scott grabbing Stiles’s board for him. Stiles watched his friends go, making sure they were far enough away before running over to Derek, bare feet kicking up sand and full cup of alcohol slightly sloshing onto the ground. 

“Woah there tiger,” Derek greeted him and grabbed Stiles’s bicep to stable him, loving the way it felt. 

“Sorry,” Stiles said and adjusted a glow stick on his head. “You’re here.” 

Derek smiled. “Of course I am, I told you I would be.”

“I know,” Stiles said, ducking his head shyly. Derek didn’t miss the way the man’s eyes swept over his body, though, lingering on his exposed skin underneath the sheer shirt. “You look...hot--I mean, good, you look good. You were right about tropical pornstar.”

Derek looked down at his outfit and grabbed one side of his shirt with his open hand. “Too much?”

“No!” Stiles held a hand out, touch lingering on Derek’s chest. “No, it’s perfect. Too much clothing though? Absolutely.”

Now it was Derek’s turn to duck his head. He didn’t know why the guy had such an effect on him. Wait, yeah he did...it was because of his massive crush on Stiles Stilinski. “Well we’ll see how the night goes,” Derek teased back. “Maybe there will be less by the end of it.”

Stiles choked on his beer, cheeks turning bright red under the warm glow of the tiki torches. 

“Stiles! Are you coming? Scott and Malia are tearing it up out th--oh.” The two men turned to see Lydia staring at them, hands crossed over her bikini top. “What the hell are you doing talking to him?”

Stiles looked down and seemed to realize his hand was still against Derek’s chest. He snatched it back like he just got burned on a hot plate and Derek turned his head away to let Stiles deal with his friend. “We were just talking Lyds,” Stiles said. “I said I’ll meet you guys down there.”

Lydia didn’t seem to accept the answer. She was obviously headstrong and very protective of her friend. She marched over to Stiles’s side and glared daggers at Derek. “Listen up moneybags, I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing with my friend, but leave him be.”

“Lydia-”

“No Stiles,” she interrupted, then thrust a finger in Derek’s face. “He doesn’t need to be dragged into your corrupt life. Why don’t you go lead on one of the Malibu barbies, hm?” She stomped off again, leaving Derek slightly hurt at her judgement. 

“Derek, I am so sorry,” Stiles said. 

Derek held up a hand to stop him, not interested in Stiles apologizing for other peoples’ behavior. “It’s fine,” he muttered. “I’m going to go find something stronger.” He couldn’t help but walk away, his inner self depreciation overtaking his mind that told him to listen to Lydia and get away. 

“Derek!” Stiles chased after him. “Don’t listen to her. She doesn’t know-”

“Doesn’t know what Stiles?!” Derek exclaimed, drawing attention from a few nosy people around them. He sighed and grabbed Stiles’s arm, pulling him away from the crowd and behind a large group of palms that blocked anyone’s view of them. The music and chatter was muffled, and Derek was only aware of the sounds of his and Stiles’s heavy breath. They were close, too close. All Derek had to do was take one step forward and his lips would touch the surfer’s, but he didn’t. “She clearly has an opinion of me that won’t change,” he said instead, this time quieter. Derek blamed it on the alcohol for unleashing his inner thoughts. “Maybe she’s right. If we only get closer I...I don’t want to bring you into all of the drama.”

Stiles gaped at Derek. “I don’t give a fuck,” he said. “You don’t get to decide that for me.” Then he stomped off back towards the party, silhouette getting smaller and smaller as he headed towards the ocean.


	8. Chapter 8

Derek rejoined his friends near the bonfire, but his eyes didn’t leave the ocean. Stiles was out there, a dark figure on a bright white surfboard ripping it up like he was born to do so. Everyone down by the ocean was watching him, cheering his name as he hit a solid wave and carved off the top fluidly. Stiles let out a holler as he threw himself into the water once it passed. 

“How’d your little talk go with surfer boy?” Erica whispered in his ear, the strong smell of alcohol on her breath nearly burning Derek’s nose hairs off. It had gotten to the point of the night nearly everyone was either wasted or stoned beyond what they should be, or even both. Derek definitely felt tipsy, but nowhere near as drunk as the rest of his group and those around him. Stiles didn’t seem that drunk either as he was still balancing on his board like a pro. 

“If it went better, we’d still be back there, hopefully making out,” Derek muttered. Erica laughed like it was the funniest thing he had ever said then stumbled back over to Boyd to shove her butt in his face and wiggle it around. 

One blonde left for another to come. Derek tried to get away before Rebecca got too close, but she latched onto his arm and pulled him close to her, nearly dragging him to the ground. “Derek!” she squealed. Drunk her seemed to be very enthusiastic, and very touchy. 

“Rebecca,” he grimaced. “Where’s your date?”

The girl looked around and pointed over at Marcus who was doing shots with a group of frat boys over one of the foldable card tables on the sand. “We’re hitting up the rocks in a little,” Rebecca smirked. She yanked on Derek’s arm and pulled him even closer until their faces were literally an inch apart. She looked down at his lips, then back up with seduction in her eyes. “But I’ve got plenty in me to go back there with you later.” She lunged at him to press their lips together, but Derek, being more sober than her, was able to dodge it at the last second and she ended up kissing his cheek. Rebecca giggled, let go, then started walking towards Marcus. 

Derek physically cringed and shook the Rebecca off of him. He felt bad for the girl, clearly something was going on to make her so desperate for attention. Derek turned back to the water, where Stiles was no longer surfing, Scott in his place riding a wave. Instead, Stiles was on the sand staring at Derek, and seemed to have been doing so during that whole Rebecca interaction. The man looked slightly hurt, but like he didn’t want Derek to realize that. 

Why did it break Derek’s heart, to see Stiles look at him like that? They weren’t dating. Rebecca only kissed his cheek, too. But everything inside of Derek wanted to march over to Stiles and make it better, make that frown turn into the usual smile he was used to. 

Grabbing another bottle of beer, Derek walked down to the water, weaving around people making out, passed out on the sand, or just standing and talking. Stiles had turned back to the water. He was far enough from Lydia, Jackson, and Allison sitting on some surfboards on the shore down to the right that they wouldn’t notice Derek approaching their friend. Scott and Malia were still out there surfing with some other strangers. 

“Stiles,” Derek said. The man turned around at the sound of his name and had to catch Derek as he tripped on air. Maybe he was a bit more drunk than he realized. The world was spinning besides Stiles’s concerned face looking him straight in the eye. “I’m sorry, you’re right. You make decisions for your life, and I want you to be in mine.”

Derek succeeded in wiping the man’s frown away. Stiles laughed at his drunken state and stabled Derek with one hand, the other holding up his board. “I know,” he said. “And I want you to be in mine.”

Screw it. Derek wanted to kiss him so badly, so he started to lean in. 

“Move it Stilinski!” a gruff voice passed by as Stiles was shoved to the ground, landing painfully on his board with a groan. 

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, asshole” Derek said to the two guys he had never seen before. They were both clutching boards themselves, and were bigger than Stiles, but not bigger than Derek. 

Rage was painted on both of their faces, and the one that shoved Stiles stepped forward with a laugh. He put a foot on Stiles’s chest to hold him down, pushing down more and more until Stiles was wheezing. “I’m sorry, I don’t listen to drunk moneybags telling me what to do,” the man said. “Back off princess. Stilinski and I here have our own shit to settle. Ain’t that right bitch?” He got down in Stiles’s face. “Think I’d forget how you dropped in on me the other day on that wave? Not to mention how you screwed my sister then broke her heart.”

Stiles coughed and tried to shove the foot off of him. “Fuck off Tanner,” Stiles said. “I had that wave, and your sister tried to practically rape me! I didn’t screw her, I got out of there before she unleashed her crazy on me.”

Tanner had smoke practically coming out of his ears as he brought up a fist to punch Stiles, but Derek caught it mid-air. There was no way this prick was getting a hit on Stiles. Tanner turned around in shock, then Derek delivered a hard right hook to the man’s face. He was sent sprawling into the sand, immediately clutching his face as blood started to seep through his fingers. 

“Derek!” Stiles called out. 

Derek didn’t listen though. Tanner had scrambled to his knees and threw himself at Derek’s legs to send him down too. Both bodies thudded to the ground and Tanner kneeled over him, sending a blow back to the man’s face. Stiles tried to get up, but Tanner’s friend took the place to hold him down. 

Derek didn’t let the surfer get in another hit. He was stronger, so he turned them over to where he had the upper hand and repeatedly punched Tanner in the face. A crowd had gathered around them, drunk voices hooting and hollering. Derek’s nose was dripping with blood from the one hit he took, but Tanner was way worse. Derek barely paid attention to how hard he was hitting, though, so blinded by anger and the overwhelming desire to protect Stiles. The alcohol only heightened the feelings that made Derek keep beating the guy. 

“Derek!” he heard Laura in the background. “Stop it!”

The next thing Derek felt was two pairs of hands drag him off of Tanner’s body. The bully got up with a groan, his friend from before leaving Stiles alone to now run over and help him hobble away. 

Derek flailed as Boyd and Isaac tighten their grips on his arms. “Get off me,” Derek said, and his friends cautiously backed off. Stiles was standing now, face shocked and staring at Derek. “I’m not drunk enough for this.”

The hotel heir stomped away, ignoring his sister and friends’ calls. The blood had dripped down and stained Derek’s white shirt, but he didn’t care. He made it up to the parking lot and headed back towards the direction of the hotel. 

“Derek, wait!” Stiles was running after him. 

The surfer put a hand on Derek’s shoulder to turn him around. “What?!” Derek exclaimed, but immediately regretted his harsh tone because of Stiles’s hurt expression. He softened his voice. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me,” Stiles said. He held a shaky hand up to Derek’s cheek. 

They were standing in the middle of the road, no traffic around as the beach the bonfire was at was fairly isolated from the heavier populated areas of the city. The night air was warm and any sound was faint in the background. Derek’s phone was buzzing with texts from his sisters and friends, but he paid no attention. 

“You’re bleeding,” Stiles said and stepped closer. “You didn’t have to do that for me. Tanner’s an asshole. We’ve been rivals on the water for years, and his sister’s obsessed with me. I didn’t sleep with her, I hope you know that.”

Derek leaned into the touch, the pain of his injured nose slowly growing more and more. In the back of his mind, he wondered why Stiles made sure to add in that last part. “I didn’t like how he was treating you. He was about to hit you Stiles...I had to step in.”

“You’re something else Derek Hale,” Stiles said, then he closed the gap between them. 

The kiss was everything Derek imagined it would be, and so much more. His nose was caked in dried blood, but Stiles didn’t seem to care. Their lips moved together like they were meant to. The two men stood in the middle of the dark road, passionately unleashing what they both had wanted to for so long. Stiles gripped onto Derek’s hair tightly, and Derek’s hands ran down the toned, shirtless torso pressed against him. 

They parted after what felt like hours, but was only a minute. Both were panting heavily, stupid smiles across their faces. Derek chased after Stiles’s mouth again, kissing it hard and long and it elicited a groan from the guy that made Derek crave more. 

“Wow,” Stiles said once they separated again, hands still woven through Derek’s hair and lips wet and puffy. 

“Yeah,” Derek said and chuckled.

They kissed again, because now they could. Now Derek could kiss and touch and relish in the feeling of Stiles just like he had wanted to for so long. Who knew all it’d take was him beating the shit out of Stiles’s rival?

“As much as I’d love to stay here all night and make out with you,” Stiles started. His hands came out of Derek’s hair to hold the man’s face. Stiles held a timid finger up to brush against his nose, causing Derek to wince. “I think we need to get you cleaned up.”

Derek nodded. As much as his nose hurt, no pain could take away from the high of happiness he was riding, and it was a fix he never wanted to get rid of. “Come back to the hotel with me?” he asked. 

They started walking again, this time letting their fingers intertwine and their shoulders press close together. “What about your family?” Stiles asked. 

“My mom’s out all night at some dinner party,” said Derek. He looked down at their hands, butterflies in his stomach. With his free one, he took out his phone. “Laura and Cora will probably be at the party all night. I just texted them that I’m fine and headed back early, but for them to enjoy it.”

Stiles smiled and pressed in closer. Derek separated their fingers to instead move his arm up and around the man’s shoulders. They stayed like that all the way back to the Lunar Coast.

...

Sneaking Stiles in was fairly easy. The hotel was busy as ever on a warm Friday night, so no staff paid too close of attention to Derek. He had taken his arm off of Stiles, though, just in case, pretending that the guy was simply a platonic friend instead of... _something_ more. 

They made it onto the elevator, which was only occupied by a couple of middle school-aged boys dripping pool water and drinking sodas. 

“Cool,” one of them said when he saw Derek’s bloody nose, then him and his friends hopped out on the fifth floor, letting the pair ride the rest of the way up to the penthouse. 

“Are you sure it’s okay I’m here?” Stiles asked as Derek led him down the hallway to his front door. He nodded and unlocked it, letting Stiles enter first. Within seconds, his jaw was to the floor. “Holy shit, this is where you live?”

“Yeah,” Derek said sheepishly. He was very blessed to have almost an entire hotel floor as his home. By the look on Stiles’s face, the man was clearly not used to such space. Derek felt slightly guilty, knowing he shouldn’t ever take advantage of what he has. 

The guilt went away quickly, though, as Stiles walked around, taking everything in. Derek just observed him, liking the way it felt to have him here, in the hotel and in the penthouse. “Come on,” Derek said, and quickly went to the kitchen to grab an ice pack before walking down the hallway towards his bedroom. 

“This is your _room_?” Stiles gaped. Derek closed and locked the door behind them, just in case anyone decided to come home early and try to barge in. If Derek liked to see Stiles in his living room, he _loved_ to see him in his bedroom. Stiles ran his hand along Derek’s dresser, hovered it over his television, felt his large bed, and looked out at his ocean view. “Can I move in?”

It was clearly a joke, but Derek wouldn’t be mad at the idea. 

Stiles stopped his self-led tour to push Derek down onto the mattress and walk into his bathroom. He reappeared a minute later with a wet washcloth and knelt down in front of him. Under any other circumstances, Stiles on his knees in front of Derek would be a treat, but the stinging pain as Stiles pressed the washcloth against his nose made Derek feel otherwise. 

“You don’t have to clean me up,” Derek said, and winced as Stiles kept pressing around his injury. 

Stiles shushed him. “You got this from defending me,” he said. “It’s the least I can do. Now...you should probably take off that bloody shirt and put it in the wash if you don’t want your family to think you murdered someone.”

Derek laughed, but immediately regretted it from the shot of pain it sent through his face. He slowly unbuttoned the few buttons left, paying attention to the way Stiles’s eyes followed the movement and grew wider once the shirt was off of his body. Now they were both half naked, sitting in Derek’s bedroom, the white washcloth in Stiles’s hand stained bright red. 

“Better?” Derek teased. 

Stiles ducked his head, playing it off as just scrubbing blood off of Derek’s neck. “Much,” he mumbled. 

Once Derek was all cleaned up, Stiles carefully pressed the ice pack to his nose, forced him to down some advil, and pushed him back to sit up against his pillows in bed. Stiles discarded the cloth and shirt, grabbed Derek’s TV remote, and hopped into the bed next to him. 

“TV?” Derek asked, turning his face so it was close to Stiles’s, his breath hitting off of the man’s cheek. Stiles tried to not let it affect him, but Derek knew he was getting to the man. “Wouldn’t you rather do something else?” He was still slightly tipsy, so his mouth had less of a filter. 

Stiles couldn’t help the smile on his face as he playfully shoved Derek back and flipped to Netflix. “Yes, but you’re crippled and bruised, so we can just put on a nice movie for tonight.” 

Derek sighed and slumped back into the dozens of pillows behind him. He couldn’t lie and say it didn’t sound like an amazing night, still, especially as Stiles put the remote on the bedside table and cuddled up against his side. He had put on some comedy movie Derek had never seen before, and as the intro came onto the screen, Derek looked down in admiration at the man in his arms. Stiles felt his gaze and tilted his head up to meet it. 

Derek brushed a kiss against Stiles’s lips, this time more gentle and light than their passionate entanglement in the middle of the road. Stiles’s hand grabbed onto his neck and he let Derek grab around his waist and pull him closer. 

The kiss was short-lived, though, with Stiles pulling away and shoving the ice pack back in Derek’s face. “As much as I’d love to do that all night,” he said, then pecked Derek again. “You need to keep icing it. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere and we can pick that up again when you’re in less pain.”

Derek rolled his eyes fondly and cuddled in closer, turning his head back to the screen to watch the movie. 

...

The next morning, Derek woke up from the best sleep he had gotten in a while. One thing he realized, though, as he awoke to the bright sun filtering into his room, was that he was really really hot. 

Derek tried to move over to grab some water, but realized there was a heavy body on top of him keeping him from doing so. He looked down to see Stiles sprawled out, mouth open and drooling onto Derek’s chest. The skin of their shirtless torsos was stuck together, both a little sweaty from falling asleep so entangled with each other. 

Stiles stirred a bit and readjusted, his face digging deeper into Derek’s chest. The picture of the sleeping man on top of him in his bedroom as the early morning sunlight filtered in was paradise to Derek. He never wanted to leave right where he was ever again. 

A loud knock at the door ruined the moment, though, and caused Derek to jump, which then caused Stiles to wake up. Derek pressed a finger to his lips to keep the man quiet. “What?” he called out to whoever was on the other side of the door. 

“Derek,” his mom said through the wood. “I’m headed downstairs to my office. Everything okay? I thought you were planning on staying at Erica’s last night.”

Derek reached for his phone and looked at the time. Him and Stiles had somehow managed to sleep in ‘till 11. 

“Shit,” Stiles whispered. “I have a shift at 11:30.” He quietly got out of the bed and looked for his own phone. 

While Stiles was occupied, Derek walked over to his door to hear Talia better. She tried the knob, wiggling it but unable to get in. “Derek?” she called again. 

“Yeah I’m fine mom,” he responded. “Just have a bit of a headache so I came home early.” That part wasn’t a lie. His nose was throbbing, so he tipped back some more advil. 

There were a few seconds of silence before his mother responded. “Alright, I think your sisters stayed out at friends’ houses. I’ll see you later,” she said. 

Derek waited to hear her retreat down the hallway and exit the penthouse before turning back to Stiles. “There’s no way I can make it home before I have to be at Mama’s,” he groaned and sniffed one of his armpits. 

“You can shower here real quick,” Derek said. “And borrow some spare clothes.”

Stiles looked up from his phone, hair disheveled from sleeping and face slightly flushed with sunburn. He was beautiful. “Can I? Thanks man, that’d be great.”

Derek nodded and went into the bathroom to grab Stiles a towel. “I’ll find a t-shirt and some shorts while you’re in there.”

“Thank you so much,” Stiles grinned and walked over to Derek. He inspected the man’s nose closely. “It definitely looks bruised, but not broken. Are you gonna be okay today without me as your nurse to take care of you?”

Derek kissed the stupid grin straight off of Stiles’s mouth, pulling him closer by the hips and eliciting a squeak out of the man. “I think I'll manage,” he said and buried his nose into the crook of Stiles’s neck. Stiles’s arms came up to loop around Derek’s shoulders and he shivered as light kisses were pressed against his skin. “I wish you didn’t have to go so soon.”

Stiles pushed him back and kissed him again, long and hard. “Me neither, trust me.” He grabbed the towel out of Derek’s hands and started walking towards the bathroom. “But I get off at 6. Want to grab dinner tonight and maybe catch some waves?”

The thought of surfing made Derek slightly nervous, but Isaac’s words echoed in his mind. “Yeah, yeah that’d be perfect,” he said, and truly meant it. If there was one person right now who could get him out on the water, it was Stiles. 

“Great,” Stiles said with the biggest smile ever. He couldn’t help but run over and kiss Derek again passionately before heading back to the bathroom and closing the door with a wink.

“Great,” Derek echoed quietly, an indescribable amount of happiness overtaking him. He slumped back onto his bed, inhaling the subtle scent of Stiles still lingering on them. It truly was great. 

The shower turned on, so Derek stood back up to fish out a pale yellow t-shirt and some black shorts for Stiles to borrow. They were slightly tighter on Derek, so would probably fit the surfer fine. 

A loud thump made Derek’s head perk up. He thought it was from the shower, but it sounded again and seemed to be coming from outside of Derek’s bedroom. He cautiously opened his door and poked his head out. There was rustling coming from down the hall, so Derek slowly walked towards the sound, ready to face whoever it was. 

He came out into the living room, but the noise was coming further down towards his mother’s master bedroom. Talia never forgot anything. When she was down in the office, she was down there for a while. 

Derek peeked through his mother’s door to see a man’s figure standing over her desk, messing with some papers. The stranger turned his head slightly. 

“Peter?” Derek said and walked into the room.

His uncle jumped and turned around, quickly hiding the papers he was rustling inside of a big black binder. “Derek!” Peter said. “Sorry if I scared you, nephew. Your mother needed me to grab some things. I’ll just take them down to her now.” 

He tried to exit the bedroom, but Derek stepped in front of him. “What things?” he questioned and looked down at the binder. 

Peter smiled like he had nothing to hide. “Paperwork about renovations and all that boring crap. Stuff you won’t have to deal with until you take over. Now if you excuse me-”

“Let me see, then,” Derek said and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t trust Peter after the conversation he heard in the man’s office the day before. 

“Derek, come on,” Peter said with a smirk. “You know how Talia doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Move.”

Derek glared at his uncle, refusing to budge from his spot. Peter let out a deep sigh and pulled out a loose piece of paper from the binder and handed it to his nephew. Derek inspected the sheet. Sure enough, it was an outline for some renovation plans being done to the outdoor patio. Peter quickly snatched it back and stuffed it back into his binder. 

“See? Now excuse me.” He shoved Derek aside and walked out of the room. Derek followed after him until he got to the front door. Down the opposite way towards Derek’s bedroom, the shower turned off with a squeak. Peter looked towards the room in confusion. “No need to share with anyone I was here. Your mother wants to keep this lowkey,” Peter said with a cocky grin. “Wouldn’t want anyone to find out about your little one night stand now, would you? Come on nephew, you’re better than that.” Then the man walked out of the penthouse, shutting the door behind him. 

Derek stared after where his uncle had been, anger building in his chest. Peter was up to something for sure, something that wasn’t going to end well. Derek knew he had to put a stop to it before his mother, and maybe even the rest of his family, got hurt.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter includes Stiles's pov for a bit, and a whole lot of discoveries. Enjoy!

Stiles Stilinski had never been in love. 

There was Heather freshman year of high school. They maybe went on five dates and made out in her dad’s old pickup truck in their school parking lot, but that was it. Then there was Theo senior year, and Stiles thought it was love, but that was until he ended up being an abusive asshole. It was clearly not true love when Stiles really didn’t miss him when he skipped town. 

Of course there was always Lydia, too. She was his childhood crush, but it was only a one-sided obsession that sprung from being a hormonal pre-teen boy. Ten year-old Stiles would scream from the rooftops how in love with Lydia Martin he was. That only ended in them becoming like brother and sister, a relationship not built on being _in_ love, but through an extensive amount of platonic love. 

Stiles didn’t think he was in love with Derek: key-word _think_. It was fresh and new and secretive and exciting, but it was also terrifying. Derek was so different and lived this luxurious life that Stiles has never known, having been raised in a beach shack up north, working summer jobs every year to help his parents with the bills. 

Stiles didn’t think he was in love with Derek, but he sure as hell was on the way there. 

“Stiles!” Scott greeted him once he entered the surf shack for his shift. He walked over and gave him a bro hug as Stiles clocked in. “You disappeared last night bro. I heard about Tanner and couldn’t find you. You okay?” He narrowed his eyes and looked Stiles up and down. “Those aren’t your clothes.”

Stiles blushed furiously and busied himself with restocking the surf wax on a shelf. Scott’s face grew into a shit-eating grin. 

“Dude,” his best friend laughed. “You totally got laid last night.”

“I did not!” Stiles argued. “Yes I went home with some random guy, but he passed out before anything happened. Totally lame. Had to run over here before I had time to change so he let me borrow some things.” Derek was totally not lame, but Stiles had to play into the lie he started. 

Scott narrowed his eyes like he didn’t believe his friend, but fortunately dropped the subject. He hit the button to open the garage and grabbed a longboard from the wall. “Whatever you say. I have to head to the beach for some private lessons with this teenage girl who specifically requested me,” Scott said with an eye roll. “Drives Allison crazy, but her dad pays me like, double than the regular.”

“Can’t help it that you’re a stud, huh Scotty?” Stiles teased and threw a towel after his friend. Scott grabbed it and sent back a shrug and a salute, then disappeared outside. 

As Scott left, Malia entered the shop through the garage wearing a wetsuit. She dropped a paddle board on the ground behind the counter and dried off her hair with a rag on the shelf. “Here to help while that tool’s out,” she said and started to peel off the suit from her athletic frame.

Stiles turned to ring up a group of teenagers buying some boogie boards. The one in front handed him some cash, but they all had eyes on the girl behind him. “Hey,” Stiles said firmly and snapped in their faces. The teens’ heads whipped back to look at him. “20 extra for the peep show. This is a surf shop, not the Vegas strip, now get out of here.” The boys grabbed their change and ran out of the shop giggling. 

“Jealous?” Malia smirked and stepped out of the suit. She was left in a teal bikini, but quickly pulled on some jean shorts and a white tank over top. 

“Of a couple of grommets? You wish,” Stiles teased back. He felt Malia come up close next to him, peering over his shoulder to look at the surf magazine he was flipping through. Her hot breath was on his shoulder and her side was lightly pressing into his. 

“And if I did?” she said quietly into his ear. 

Stiles’s breath hitched, which just caused his friend to smirk harder and walk out from behind the counter to sort through some t-shirts customers had left loose. The shop was growing fairly busy as families started their beach days and needed to get some supplies or tourist surfers wanted to hit the waves. Most local surfers didn’t show up in the shop until either early hours of the day or right before closing. They knew to stay off the waves while they were flocked with amateurs and visitors who dropped in. 

Malia talked to some customers, but she kept making eyes at Stiles. She was very flirty with him, always had been since they became friends a couple of years ago. Malia was the last to join their group as Scott and Stiles grew up with Lydia and Jackson, all going to the same schools. They met Allison senior year after she moved to their hometown up north, and her and Scott instantly clicked and fell in love. Scott, Stiles, and Allison went to community college while Lydia thrived at UC Berkeley and Jackson partied it up at SDSU. They met Malia at college and she fit right in, but took a quick liking to Stiles. The six of them grew so close and immediately bought a small house together after they graduated.

He couldn’t lie and say he hadn’t thought about getting together with her. He had flirted back on many occasions, but it never went further then a couple of innuendos and sultry looks. In that moment, though, it made Stiles only think of Derek. He couldn’t tell Malia he was sorta seeing someone now because it would definitely get around to the group and Lydia would cross reference everyone Stiles has ever spoken to until she figured out who. 

Throughout Stiles’s shift, Derek was all he could think about really. Anytime he wasn’t distracted helping a customer or talking to Malia, his mind drifted to the night they spent together. He held a gentle hand up to his mouth and smiled, recalling the way it felt to finally have the man’s lips on his. As soon as Stiles met Derek during the night of the gala, he was smitten. Of course he had always seen the media coverage of the Hale family and knew just how hot Derek Hale was, how attractive the whole family was really. Seriously, they had hella good genes. Nothing could’ve prepared him for the Greek God of a man Derek was in person, though, and now Stiles could kiss that man whenever he wanted? Who died and gave him the sexiest summer romance ever?

“What’s on your mind?” Malia snapped him out of his thoughts as she hopped up onto the counter next to him, leaning into Stiles’s space. A nearby woman gave her a disapproving look that the girl ignored. 

“Nothing,” Stiles said, keeping his eyes down at the counter. 

“Oh come on Stiles,” Malia said and poked his shoulder. “You were deep in thought over here like goddamn That’s So Raven.” 

“None of your business, okay?” Stiles snapped. He immediately regretted it from Malia’s hurt look. “Just thinking.”

She seemed to quickly brush it off. “Alright,” said Malia. “Anyways, wanna go shred after work?”

“Can’t,” Stiles said absentmindedly. “Got plans.”

A pang of jealousy passed over Malia’s face. “Right,” she said and jumped off the counter to help a man look at some shortboards. 

That was the end of most of their banter for the day. Scott came back two hours later whining about how his student tricked him into grabbing her around the waist to steady her on the board, then somehow found that as an invitation to share her number with him. 

“Did I miss anything?” he asked. Malia had disappeared into the back room. 

Stiles shook his head. “It’s been slow now, waiting for the after lunch rush.”

The bell over the door chimed and a familiar looking girl walked in. Stiles immediately recognized the signature dark hair and sharp jawline as a Hale.

“Hey,” one of Derek's sisters greeted him. She looked younger, so he assumed it was Cora. “You guys got funboards and some board bags? Heading to Laguna this week for a surf trip with some friends.”

“Yeah, I got you,” Stiles said and showed her the merchandise. Despite his cool composure, on the inside he was freaking out. Even though there was no way, a small voice inside of Stiles worried she would see right through him that he was seeing her brother. 

“Thanks,” Cora said with a friendly smile as she checked it out. Scott eyed her warily from behind the counter, seeming to also recognize a Hale in their shop. “What’s your name?”

Stiles looked back at her, having started to walk away. “Uh, Stiles,” he answered and stuffed his hands in his pockets. That’s when he realized he was still wearing Derek’s clothes, the girl in front of him’s _brother’s_ clothes. 

“Cute,” Cora said with a smirk, then she seemed to notice something about his attire too. “Hm, I think my brother has that exact outfit.”

“Popular brand,” Stiles laughed it off.

“Yeah,” Cora said, then turned back to inspect the boards. “Haven’t been surfing in forever. My brother used to be amazing, could’ve gone pro maybe if he stuck with it.”

“Really?” Stiles looked at the younger Hale sister in shock. With Derek asking to surf with him, Stiles assumed the guy wanted to maybe learn some things. If the man was nearly pro level, maybe who was teaching would be the other way around. 

“Yep,” Cora said with a sad smile. “He hasn’t done it since our father passed eight years ago. Derek won the Venice Cup multiple years and was headed to Nationals.”

Stiles hadn’t surfed in many competitions, instead enjoying the sport for the sake of enjoying it, but the surfing community was still all a community. He vaguely remembered hearing of this kid a couple years older than him that was a shoe in to win Nationals and get sponsored, but suddenly dropped all comps and disappeared from the surfing scene after a family tragedy. He paid little attention to the name, having been 14 and dealing with the struggles of his own family problems with his mother sick in the hospital. Now it made sense, though. 

“Holy shit,” Stiles muttered to himself. 

“What is it?” Cora asked, a confused look on her face. 

“Nothing! Nothing,” Stiles stuttered. He backed up into a rack of sunglasses, sending a few crashing to the floor. “Oops,” he laughed it off and stumbled to clean them up. Scott held in a laugh from behind the counter. 

The girl standing over him just shrugged it off, walking over to the register to ring up her decision with Scott. Stiles focused on cleaning up his mess, mind racing a mile a minute. He couldn’t say he felt slightly hurt. It wasn’t like Derek withheld dire life or death information, but the man had sat on the sand and watched Stiles surf, knew the passion he held for it, and this whole time he was a goddamn competition rider? Oh boy could Stiles not wait to get out on the water with him. 

He looked up once he was done cleaning and checked the clock on the wall. The time was only 2:30, the after lunch rush starting to trickle in the door as a lot of people headed back to the beach and took walks down the boardwalk. Three and a half hours until he could see Derek again. The man was a drug to Stiles. He was itching to kiss Derek again, to just be in his presence and get his fix, and he had absolutely no one to talk about it to. 

“Well, thanks for helping me Stiles,” Cora said, a board tucked under her arm. She carefully maneuvered it towards the door. “You surf?”

“Oh yeah,” Scott piped in for him. “Dude goes off in the water. Hit a sick vertical on a gnarly set yesterday. I bet he could give your brother a huge run for his money.”

“Oh really?” Cora said, face slightly impressed. She turned to Scott and gave him a challenging look that he reciprocated. “I guess we’ll have to see sometime then.”

“I guess so,” Scott taunted back, then the girl left their shop. He looked at Stiles, a glint in his eye. “Dude now you totally need to show Derek Hale up. We could place actual bets on this! Those moneybags would have to share their wealth.”

Stiles laughed nervously, trying not to give anything away on his face. “Yeah haha,” he said in a shaky tone. “Maybe.” 

Scott’s face fell, mouth settling into confusion. “Try to sound at least a little bit excited.”

Stiles shrugged, walking back behind the counter. “You heard her. The guy was nearly pro.”

“Yeah, _eight_ years ago!” Scott exclaimed, apologizing for his loud tone when a customer glared. “We can have a competition right there.” He pointed out the door and towards the beach on the other side of the boardwalk. “Think about it bro, Moneybags versus Beach Bums. There hasn’t been a competition in the swell between us since Chuck Forbes dropped in on Dirty Tony in the 90s.”

“What are we talking about?” Malia reappeared with a large box in her hand. She set it on the counter and started unloading a colorful array of board fins.

Scott turned to her excitedly. “Wouldn’t it be sick if Stiles took on Derek Hale out on the waves? It’d really shut those rich kooks up for a while.”

“No!” Stiles argued. “Malia, tell him it’s an awful idea.”

“That’s a great idea,” the girl said instead. Scott beamed and gave Stiles a ‘told you so’ look. “The Hales and every other first class family think they run this city. Like they’ve got Beverly Hills and Calabasas, at least let us have the damn boardwalk.”

“Thank you,” Scott said and smacked a kiss on the girl’s cheek. She stuck her tongue out at him in response. “You’ve got years on him Stiles. He may have comp experience, but eight years out of the game’s gonna take a toll.”

Stiles wanted to rip his hair out. If only he could spit out right there and then why exactly he could not challenge Derek Hale to a surf off in front of everyone. The first reason would be because he very much wanted to lock himself in a room with the man and get hot and heavy all night.

“Did you also not hear the part about how he stopped surfing in the first place because of his father’s death?!” Stiles argued. Scott stopped in his tracks, and Malia just made an awkward face and occupied herself with ringing up customers. “We can’t force him Scotty.”

“It doesn’t hurt to offer the idea, though,” Scott said. “We can raise money for the shop, for all of the shops run by people like you and me along this strip who are in danger of being overtaken by the next luxurious resort hotel that wants an ocean view.” He shrugged and clocked out, leaving the store without another word.

Stiles ran his fingers through his hair and bit back a groan. Now his friend was dead set on pinning him against Derek, and not in the way he wanted. And knowing Cora’s personality from what Derek has told him, Stiles knew that if Scott brought the idea to her, she would be on it as well. This was not good. Looks like they’d have a lot to talk about on their surf date that night. Stiles looked at the clock again, a pit settling in his stomach. 3:00. Three more hours. 

…

Everyday like clockwork, Peter Hale would get up from his desk, exit his office, and sit outside sipping whiskey neat with a couple of other suit-wearing, high up men for an early happy hour. He would be out there for maybe two to three hours, finishing up any work he had left on the shiny iPhone stuffed in the front pocket of his blazer. 

Derek waited until his uncle had headed to follow this daily routine before sneaking into his office. The man kept the room locked with an electronic keypad, but good thing he was dumb enough to make it his own birthday. Derek punched in the numbers and looked both ways down the hall before slipping in and shutting the door behind him. 

Peter’s office was shiny and modern with a grey, sleek desk and white chairs all around. A large window was on the wall behind the desk, staring out towards the boardwalk framed by palm trees. Shelves and counters lined the other walls, full of many binders and books, one shelf holding the newest Keurig model. 

Derek immediately headed towards the desk, flipping through any stray sheets of paper his uncle may have left lying around. He turned them over and read every word, but so far only came up with bills, job applications, and renovation plans. There had to be something in here about what he had discussed with Ted, about how he was going to rip the Lunar Coast out from under Talia’s feet and sell it. 

“Come on,” Derek muttered as he moved on to the shelves, digging through folder after folder, making sure to put back everything where he found it. His eyes scanned a bookshelf until they settled on a row of black binders and his mind flashed to his confrontation with Peter earlier. “Bingo.” Derek started taking out every binder. Peter must have had dozens of them, all unmarked and identical. It took seven of them until something caught Derek’s eye. 

With a shaky hand, Derek pulled out a piece of paper: an official state of California death certificate. The name in the big box underneath that was none other than Matthew Hale, his father. Derek’s dad had taken their mother’s last name to keep the Hale legacy running, so he and Peter weren’t blood related, only in-laws. That’s why it was strange Peter would’ve held onto the certificate. Derek’s father and uncle had never been particularly close, always butting heads about hotel business. 

Derek’s eyes scanned the certificate until they settled on cause of death. Him and his sisters had always been told their father drowned at sea during a bad storm. His boat had been found at the bottom of the Pacific along with his body. Derek never got to see his dad after his death, as the coroner claimed the body had started to decompose rapidly once they removed it from the water. It would’ve been too traumatic for the kids to see him. 

Now, though, in a faded typewriter font, was a cause of death Derek had never seen before: _Perforating brain trauma due to gunshot wound of the head_.

Derek couldn’t breathe. He leaned back against the shelf, eyes wide and a lump in his throat that seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. The certificate was clutched in his hand, knuckles growing white from how hard he was grasping it. 

Derek quickly put everything back and stumbled out of the office. The hallway was spinning and he felt like the oxygen was sucked out of the air. Derek didn’t stop, though, until he made it to his mother’s office. She was fortunately gone, too, and he ran to where he knew she kept everything about Matthew. He ripped out a piece of paper, the one that he had seen all of his life. It was nearly identical to the certificate in Peter’s office, except the cause of death was indeed listed as drowning. 

This meant that the death certificate was forged, and that Derek’s mom didn’t even know the truth, but somehow Peter did. This meant that Derek had been deceived, that him and his sisters were fed a lie about a tragic boating accident. This meant that his father was _murdered_ , by Lord knows who, and that they were never caught. 

And this meant that his uncle, his blood, was somehow involved in the murder.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I worked on this chapter, the world erupted. To anyone who takes the time to read my stories, we are a broken world in need of fixing. It disgusts me what people can do to someone based on the color of their skin. I live in America, as many of you probably do, and being a white woman, I have the duty to educate myself and support my black brothers and sisters. I stand with them, and you if you’re a minority. Black lives matter.

_hey, I’m at the restaurant :) you coming soon?_

_Derek? not to rush you or anything, but it’s been an hour_

_everything ok? it’s getting late_

Derek’s phone buzzed over and over again like clockwork with messages from Stiles. All it would take would be him taking the phone out and sending a text that he needs a raincheck, but Derek was so in shock he felt like he could barely move. A part of him felt bad, but the feelings of grief and betrayal overpowered anything else. 

He dug his fingers into the sand, the ground slightly damp and cold from the setting evening sun. Right after Derek had found the death certificates, he had stumbled out to the beach, stripped down to his shorts, and submerged himself in the ocean to the point where he needed to come up for air. Now, Derek was sitting on the shore, legs and hands covered with sand, but he didn’t care. He had been sitting in the same spot for hours. 

Everything Derek knew about his family had been flipped upside down. He had grieved over his dad’s tragic boating accident for years, and was still wary about going on boats now. 

But Matthew Hale was murdered for some reason, and the murderer was still out there, possibly planning to come after the test of the family. Derek’s chest felt heavy with this information, but he didn’t want to scare his sisters and mother until he found out more. The burning question on his mind was what involvement Peter had in this. Was he protecting the murderer, or maybe just his sister’s sanity? Either way, forging the documents and most likely bribing the coroner are risky illegal moves that could put the hotel in jeopardy, and Peter cared deeply about the hotel. That means whatever he was hiding was important. 

Derek got so lost in his thoughts the sun had completely disappeared and the moon was bright in its place. He jumped and whipped his head around when a hand was gently placed on his shoulder.

“Stiles?” Derek said quietly, voice scratchy from crying earlier. Stiles gave him a sad smile and sat down on the sand next to him. “How’d you find me?”

Stiles sighed and stared out towards the water, wrapping his arms around his knees. “Well, I was slightly offended when you stood me up at dinner, but I know you wouldn’t on purpose. I figured something was wrong and came to the hotel, then your friend Erica told me this is usually where you disappear off to when no one knows where you are. She’s nice, except I did get interviewed for like 10 minutes.”

Derek was able to crack a small smile. He allowed Stiles to intertwine their fingers together. “Sorry about dinner. I just found out something...that changes what I’ve known for years.”

“Well I’m here to listen if you want to share,” Stiles said, giving Derek’s hand a light squeeze. “But I understand if you don’t want to.”

“Thank you,” Derek mumbled. “Raincheck on our date?”

Stiles smiled and pecked Derek on the cheek. “Of course,” he said. “I’m here for you.”

For the first time in a long time, Derek believed those words. People in his life had always said them, but most of the time they were empty promises. Whether it was fake friends who used him for fame or estranged family members who only talked to him on holidays, they never showed up when Derek actually needed them. Sitting in the evening air on the sand with Stiles felt like a safe space, though, and Derek knew he could trust Stiles with anything. 

But right now, the murder of his father was something Derek was afraid to spit out, so instead he remained sitting in silence. Both of them did, for the way Stiles’s thumb was brushing over Derek’s skin lightly said enough: that Derek can take his time to talk about it.

“I need to get my mind off of it,” was what Derek said instead. Stiles looked at him confused as he hopped to his feet. “Let’s raincheck dinner, but not the surfing.”

Stiles stood up too, a worried expression on his face. “Are you sure?” he asked in a concerned tone. “You’re not super emotionally stable right now and...and I know that you haven’t been surfing in years.”

“Who told you that?” Derek asked. As far as he knew, he hadn’t shared the sob story of his life completely to Stiles yet. 

The man awkwardly looked down and shuffled his feet in the sand. “Cora came by the shop earlier, talked about how you were nearly pro-”

“I wasn’t,” Derek interrupted. “So I won a few competitions, got a few phone calls, I wasn’t going pro.”

“Well I guess we’ll have to see,” Stiles said with a big grin that set off butterflies in Derek’s stomach. He held out a hand that Derek gladly accepted, once again intertwining their fingers. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

Derek nodded. He was...right? Yeah, he was definitely ready. It felt right to get back out there with Stiles, someone Derek trusted and who loved surfing just as much as he did once. With the new discoveries about Peter and his father, Derek needed to show his dad that justice will come, and to face that music he must start with facing something smaller. 

…

Stiles unlocked the surf shack on the beach, eyes darting around to make sure no one was watching. He walked in and flipped a switch, causing a singular, naked lightbulb to illuminate the small, wooden shack. Derek stood in the doorway and leaned on the frame, just watching and admiring the ways Stiles’s muscles flexed as he hoisted two surfboards up off of the ground and over his head. Derek helped by taking one, the familiar feeling of polyurethane under his fingers. Stiles closed the shack door behind them and headed towards the water. 

As Derek got closer and closer to the ocean, he actually felt surprisingly relaxed and excited. The thought of surfing had always made him sad since his dad, but he had never made it so far to be standing with the water lapping on his toes, a board in hand, and nothing but empty water ahead. 

Stiles was already waist deep. He set the board down to float and jumped up to lay on his stomach. He looked back at Derek with a playful glint in his eye. The smile on his face was enough for Derek to take a deep sigh and run towards the waves. The water splashed up all around him as he threw the board down and hoisted himself up in the same way Stiles did. The feeling was fluid and familiar. Derek dug his hands down to paddle out past the impact zone. Saltwater sprayed in his face and he let out a holler. 

“Come on Hale!” Stiles called. He was sitting up on his board, feet dangling back and forth in the water. Derek caught up to him and sent a splash in the man’s direction. Stiles gawked and gladly reciprocated the action. “Come on, we’ve been over what happens if you splash me.” Derek splashed him again, only laughing when Stiles feigned anger. “Oh yeah? We’ll see who’s laughing when I show you up on the waves.” Stiles looked out towards the dark silhouette of a large wave rolling in. He winked at Derek and started paddling, standing up effortlessly when the time was right. 

The moon lit up Stiles as he carved it up, pulling floaters and kickflips. Derek was fascinated and very confused as to how Stiles didn’t have more recognition in the area. Derek was good when he was younger, but he honestly doesn't think he was ever _this_ good. Stiles ended his ride with a kick out and threw himself into the water, coming up a second later to jump back onto his board. 

“Shit,” Derek said in shock. “That was incredible. Everytime you surf it’s just...incredible.” 

Stiles ducked his head, blush obvious even in the nighttime. “Thanks,” he said with a shrug. “I just let the water take me where it wants me to.”

Derek couldn’t resist but paddle closer to the man. He leaned over and put one hand on Stiles’s neck to pull his head closer until their lips met. They made out, bobbing up and down together as waves rolled by and the nightlife of the boardwalk was loud in the background. It was like a dream. If someone told Derek a month ago that he’d be sitting in the water on a surfboard again, making out with a hot surfer who made him feel like he could forget every worry in the world and get lost in a summer romance. 

Stiles gently pushed him back, biting his lip in a way that made Derek want to take him back to the sand and keep this going, but he didn’t. 

“We can continue this later,” Stiles said, chasing after Derek’s mouth for one more kiss before pointing out towards the open ocean. “Next one’s you.”

“Why don’t we just continue _now_?” Derek pleaded, leaning forward again. Stiles giggled and pushed him away, shaking his head and refusing to let Derek’s puppy dog eyes affect him. 

“You need to do this,” said Stiles, tone turning serious. 

Derek sighed and looked back. Sure enough, a large wave was approaching fast. He knew he had to get this over with. Once the first wave was done, it would get easier, he just kept telling himself that. 

He started paddling. 

He paddled fast, everything coming back to him. Derek was transported back to surfing with his dad, the freedom he felt from standing on the board. As he pushed himself up for the first time in eight years, the freedom returned. The wind blew through his hair and saltwater sprayed up in his face. He balanced like it was second nature, learned muscle movements taking over and guiding Derek along the wave. He didn't pull out any old tricks yet, just getting used to the feeling of surfing again and moving with the swell. 

Derek pumped a fist in the air as the wave faded out. Stiles was cheering in the background, and the whole event filled Derek with so much glee and relief. He paddled back over when he was done, a shit-eating grin taking over his face. 

“You did it!” Stiles exclaimed and shouted to the moon above. “He fucking did it!” Derek laughed and looked towards the sand to see if anyone was watching, but the only ones who heard Stiles’s outbursts were him and the sky. “Come on Hale, let it out!”

Derek hesitated for a second, but decided to screw it. He put his arms out and looked up. “I did it!” he yelled, probably louder than he had spoken in forever. 

The pair laughed to themselves, riding the high of the excitement. Derek felt amazing. He felt liberated, like he finally could hold onto a piece of his father without falling apart. Despite the events of the day, he wasn’t feeling upset at that moment about his dad. 

Derek looked up to the sky again. “I did it,” he said again, this time quieter and not just to the clouds, but to wherever Matthew Hale was looking down on him. 

They surfed for another hour, taking turns catching waves in the dark, enjoying each other’s company. Once they were done, the two men stuffed the boards back into the shack and headed to the boardwalk, laughing and teasing each other. 

It was a positive end to one of the worst days Derek has ever had, and it was all thanks to Stiles. 

Derek stopped his tracks in the middle of the boardwalk, the colorful lights of stores and rides flashing around them. When Stiles stopped too and gave him a confused look, Derek took one step forward, grabbed the guy’s head in both of his hands, and pressed another long kiss to his mouth. They let pedestrians walk around them, ignoring the ones who vocally expressed their dismay at two people making out in the middle of the boardwalk. 

If there was one word to describe the feeling inside of Derek, it would be fireworks. It was like a scene from a movie where the protagonist and the love interest finally have that epic kiss that tells you they’re going to be together for a long time. The kiss in the ocean was amazing, but this was unbelievable. They separated only when a bell went off loudly in the arcade, giggling against each other’s mouths. 

“Come here,” Stiles whispered and pulled Derek over to a nearby bench. They sat down and Derek’s arm came up to wrap around the other’s shoulder and pull him close. “I’m proud of you.”

Derek kissed Stiles’s head. “Thank you,” he said, and genuinely meant it. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Stiles sighed and snuggled in closer. “I know you don’t want to talk about what happened,” he said. “So can I tell you about my parents?”

Derek nodded eagerly. He had always wondered about the man’s past, about his parents or if he had any siblings. 

“I grew up in a little house up north just my parents and me,” Stiles began. “Sounds like a cheesy start, but it really was the perfect home. My family wasn’t that wealthy, but we managed to get by with my dad as sheriff of our town and my mom a school teacher. They truly loved each other, though, and they loved me. My dad would take me to the beach nearly everyday to surf just like his father did with him, and my mom loved to watch and cheer us on.

“Things were great, until I was 13 and she was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. My dad and I had to scramble together all we could for hospital bills and medicine and all that. I worked a bit as a surf instructor over summers and helped Scott at his mom’s surf shop after school, the very one I work in now. Mom died a year later from a depleted immune system that left her vulnerable to any infection that came her way.” Derek gripped Stiles’s shoulder a bit tighter as the man’s voice began to waver. 

“It tore apart my dad and I, but we got through it, knowing mom was right up there cheering us on just like she did when we surfed. I had Scott and his mom, Melissa, and Lydia too, along with some other childhood friends. Surfing really helped get me through it, though, which is why I’m extra happy you’ve let me help you get back into it too. But when I was a junior in high school, my dad...he was in a really bad car accident. He didn’t make it.”

A tear rolled down Stiles’s cheek. Derek cautiously brushed it away. “You don’t have to keep going if you don’t want to,” he told Stiles.

The man shook his head with a sad smile. “I know, but I want to,” he replied. “Now I was an orphan, but Melissa took me in. They’re my second family, and Scott really is my brother. What I want to get to, though, is that I was terrified to even ride in a car for years after. The thought of it made me have panic attacks and spike my anxiety levels through the roof. Scott helped me little by little get through it. I want to do the same for you. Today was a major win in getting you to surf, now we just have to work up to bigger waves and more of the tricks you used to know.”

Derek hugged Stiles close. “Thank you for sharing that,” he said. “Honestly, thank you for everything you do for me, for someone you barely know.”

Stiles shrugged and stood up, helping Derek to his feet too. “I feel like I’ve known you for years, is that weird?”

“Not at all,” Derek said and stared into Stiles’s eyes longingly. “I feel the same.” Then they made their way back down the boardwalk, never letting an inch of space between them.

They were completely lost in each other all the way back to Stiles’s jeep in the parking lot behind the small pizza place they were supposed to eat dinner at. Once they made it, Derek slowly backed Stiles up until the man’s back was against the car. He put a hand on either side of Stiles and continued their kiss, this time more secluded in the parking lot than their previous spot in the middle of a crowd. 

Their mouths moved together like matching puzzle pieces. It was so right in every way, and Derek never wanted it to stop. 

All great things must come to an end, though, as someone cleared their throat, causing Stiles and Derek to break apart and look towards the source. 

There, in all her glory, was none other than Laura Hale with her arms crossed over her chest. 

“Laura?!” Derek said, surprised. Stiles awkwardly looked down and to the side, avoiding eye contact with the eldest Hale sibling. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“ _I_ was just picking up the pizza Cora and I ordered for dinner. I still feel drunk from last night and need some fat and grease to survive. I want to know what are _you_ doing here, making out behind Pizza Palace like a couple of high schoolers sneaking around?” she scoffed, then gave Stiles a once over that immediately made the man sink into himself. “Who’s your friend, Der?”

Derek looked shyly between Stiles and his sister, not sure what to say. Stiles beat him to it, though. “I’m Stiles,” he said and held a hand out. Laura eyed it for a second before accepting and shaking it in greeting. 

“Hello Stiles,” she said, obviously feeling protective over her brother after finding a stranger with his tongue shoved down his throat. “I’m Laura.”

“I know,” Stiles said. “Not in, like a creepy way, but you’re a Hale! Everyone knows the Hales. I’m also friends, or sorta friends with your brother. Not that we’re less than friends, we’re like way more. I mean, not _way_ , totally just friends...but I should probably just shut up.” Stiles faded off and his face grew dark red. He seemed to ramble in awkward situations a lot, but Derek found it endearing. 

Laura couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “I like you Stiles,” she said. She turned to her brother, excitement in her eyes. This is exactly why Derek didn’t want to tell Laura about Stiles. His sister gets obsessed if Derek dates someone for more than a week, and usually ends up accidentally spreading the news all over town. “You have a secret boyfriend you haven’t told me about?!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Derek exclaimed and grabbed his sister by the shoulders. “You can’t tell mom, or Cora, or anyone about this, okay? Stiles and I met recently, it’s all very new. I need you to _promise_ me you’ll keep this a secret.” 

Laura obviously didn’t want to, but she sighed in defeat and nodded. “Fine,” she said sternly. “I don’t understand why you want to hide, though!”

He knew why. He wanted to hide because his family’s life was crazy, because Stiles didn’t deserve that judgement, and because Stiles was different. He wasn’t some casual fling Derek might bring around to meet the family once, but then break up the next day. It was slow and amazing and Derek might be a bit in love with Stiles. 

“Just, please don’t tell,” Derek said quietly. Stiles was standing behind him, head still hung low but eyes pleading as well. “For me.”

Laura nodded and gave him a small smile. “Of course bro,” she said earnestly. “It was nice to meet you Stiles. I better be hearing _a lot_ more about you from now on.” She said the last part with narrowed eyes at her brother. 

“Bye,” Stiles said shyly and held up a hand to wave as Laura backed away towards the restaurant, a glint in her eye. 

“Stiles,” Derek said once his sister was gone. He put a hand on the man’s arm. “I’m so sorry about that.”

Stiles shook his head and pressed a light kiss to Derek’s lips. He unlocked the jeep and opened the door. “Don’t be sorry,” he said. “We knew someone would find out eventually. Do you think she’ll actually keep it a secret?”

Derek sighed and held the door open while Stiles hopped in and started his car. “I sure hope so, because I don’t want anything to screw this up.”

The night air was cool and voices in the distance were faint over the sound of the jeep’s engine. Stiles beamed and kissed Derek one last time. “Don’t worry Hale,” he said and started to close the car door, but his window was open. “You’re far from screwing this up.”

…

Derek had a little skip in his step on the way home. His feelings about Peter and Laura were shoved deep down as he was bursting with happiness. There was a stupid grin over his face as the hotel came into view. 

A text buzzed in his pocket, forcing Derek to dig his phone out of his pocket. 

_I hope you know I’ve got your back Der Bear, seriously <3_

Warmth started filling his chest. Derek knew Laura would come through. As Derek was typing out a response, he wasn’t looking and a stranger rammed into his shoulder, nearly knocking him off of his feet. 

“Watch it!” Derek asked. He looked back at the hooded man walking away without a care, the something on the ground caught his eye. Derek looked back again, then knelt down to grab what seemed to be a folded piece of paper. He gently opened it. 

_Stop looking if you know what’s best for you. You wouldn’t want you or your little boyfriend to end up like dear old daddy._

The warmth in his chest immediately turned into a cold and heavy tightness. Without thinking, Derek turned around and ran after the stranger. He moved back and forth between strangers, gently pushing them out of the way as he tried to find the black hoodie that dropped the note. As hard as he looked, though, the man was clearly gone, like a ghost here one second and disappearing into mid-air the next. 

With the paper clutched in his hand, Derek dropped to his knees. Was that his father’s murderer? How did they know he knew? How did they know _Stiles_? And most importantly, who was it?

Derek looked up to the night sky, pedestrians weaving around to avoid stepping on him. His mind thought of Stiles. Whoever this was, they were dangerous, and now they knew about Stiles too. He took a deep breath in, then let out another loud scream to the stars.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait on this chapter. I made it a bit longer to make up for that. Enjoy!

Derek barged in through the hotel doors, not caring who gave him weird looks. A nearby bellboy asked him if he was okay, but he paid no attention and marched down the hallway towards Peter’s office. He slammed open the door, but the room was empty. There were two other places Peter would be at this time. 

Derek ran to the patio bar, but no luck. His last stop was Peter’s apartment on the floor below his home. He sprinted to the elevators, but one was packed, one was out of service, and the last two were descending from high floors. With a loud huff of frustration, Derek opened the stair access and took them two at a time. 

Once he made it to Peter’s floor, Derek didn’t even bother knocking. He barged in, wood splintering from him having to kick the locked door in. Peter was standing at a table with Ted, both peering over an array of paperwork sprawled out. The two men jumped and turned to see a very angry and scared Derek stomping towards them. 

Derek grabbed Peter with both hands and slammed him against the wall, holding him up by the collar. 

“Derek!” Peter exclaimed, trying to fight his nephew but having no luck. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“You know what I’m doing!” Derek fought back. He could hear footsteps retreating behind him. “Don’t you move Ted.” The man stopped in his tracks. 

“Let me down,” said Peter with a snarky look in his eye. “Let’s talk about whatever’s bothering you.”

Derek only shoved him higher. “What’s bothering me? Yeah, I’ll tell you what’s bothering me,” he growled. “Let’s start with how you have a death certificate in your office that says my father was _murdered_. Then what, did you catch me on some hidden camera and send a threat to scare me off?”

Peter’s eyes were wide and he looked a little terrified. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, nephew. Now let me _down_ and let’s be calm.”

Sure, Derek would let him down, so he grabbed Peter and threw him onto the ground. The man scrambled back to his feet, brushing off his expensive dress shirt and slacks. Peter walked up to Derek and held a finger in his face. 

“You don’t get to come into my home, shove me, and throw accusations without any evidence,” he said sternly. Ted was still awkwardly standing to the side, sweat beading on his forehead. “Also you’re the one who snooped around _my_ office. Yes, I made a new death certificate to protect you. To protect my family! Your mother was destroyed by Matthew’s death, so better for her to think it’s an accident than a reason to seek revenge.”

Derek’s blood was boiling. “So does that mean you know who shot my father? For all I know, it could’ve been _you_ in order to make it easier for you to sell the hotel behind our backs!”

Next thing Derek knew, Peter’s fist was connecting with his face. Ted let out a gasp as Derek was sent to the ground, cheek throbbing from the hit. Peter then hoisted up his nephew and dragged him over to the broken door, throwing him out into the hallway. Derek was too stunned to fight back. 

“Watch your mouth Derek,” Peter said, a sinister look in his eyes. “It’s going to get you hurt one of these days.” Then, Peter closed the door, it slightly hanging off its hinges but still covering the entrance.

Derek sat in the hallway for a second, heartbeat loud and deafening in his ears. Peter had pretty much denied everything besides the death certificate, but Derek just _knew_ the man was lying. 

He slowly stood up and made his way to the elevator. Derek descended to the ground floor and immediately headed to the bar. Erica took one look at him, poured a shot of Lord knows what, and leaned over to listen.

“Who the hell did that to you?” she said and pointed at his cheek. “Whose ass do I have to kick? I can bring Boyd as backup.”

Derek slammed back the shot, not even flinching. He thanked the girl as she refilled it. “It was Peter. I confronted him about betraying our family and murdering my father.”

The whole bar went silent and turned to stare at Erica after she dropped a glass and it shattered. She shyly apologized and started to clean it up. It only took the onlookers a couple seconds to return to their chatty conversations. The blonde turned to Derek. To say she looked surprised was an understatement. 

“I’m sorry, what?” she questioned and lowered her voice. “Your father was...what? And Peter did _what_?” Her face had paled, stunned by the news. 

Derek looked around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers. Someone already knew he was onto them, whether it was Peter or not. “Can I meet at your place after you get off? I don’t know if shit’s bugged around here.”

Erica nodded frantically, still processing what she had heard. “Of course, yeah,” she said and shook her head in disbelief. “I get off in 20.”

“And can I bring Stiles?”

A slight smirk broke through the girl’s surprised composure. “Yes, please do.”

…

Stiles was shocked to receive another call from Derek so soon, having only parted an hour before. Their drive to Erica’s house was filled with burning questions and worried looks, especially because Derek was cryptic as ever, just needing to get everything out once to Erica and Stiles when they were all together.

“Derek, you’re scaring me,” Stiles said and stared at the man’s white knuckles gripping the steering wheel of his sleek, black Camaro. 

Derek feared that if he said anything, he’d break down from the anxiety and stress he was under, so he just grabbed onto Stiles’s fingers tightly with his free hand. 

They pulled up to the apartment building. As the pair walked up to the door, Derek couldn’t help but glance around in all directions, making sure no one was watching them. Stiles noticed, his face only growing more concerned. 

They took the elevator in silence too. Erica was leaning out her apartment door once they got off, phone in hand most likely having been tracking Derek on find my friends. She quickly ushered them in and closed the door behind them. 

“Nice to see you again Stiles,” she said in a mischievous tone, recalling their very brief interaction Stiles had mentioned when he was looking for Derek.

“Likewise,” Stiles responded, but he was still clearly on edge. 

“Boyd here?” Derek asked. It’s not that he didn't trust the guy, but right now someone had literally threatened to kill him and Stiles, so he wanted to keep the circle small. Erica shook her head and motioned them to the kitchen. Derek and Stiles sat down on bar stools while the blonde dug through her fridge and handed everyone a cold beer. 

“So…” Stiles broke the silence and turned to Derek next to him. “Care to fill me in on what is exactly going on here? Because your panicked phone call that you were on the way to pick me up and head to Erica’s didn’t exactly leave me feeling the most relaxed!”

Derek took a deep breath and told them everything from overhearing Peter’s plan to sell the hotel to the threatening note a stranger left. He made sure to leave out the part where Stiles was threatened too for the time being to not freak the man out more than he already was. Stiles’s face had paled and his grip was tight around the beer bottle, eyes full of concern. 

“So you’re in danger?!” Stiles exclaimed once Derek was done.

“What the hell,” Erica just muttered to herself and ran her hands through her blonde curls, pulling at them from the stress. 

Derek sighed and took a long sip before answering. “I don’t know if it was an empty threat, but if they knew my dad was murdered, it could very much be real. Peter is definitely linked to it. He claimed that he forged the death certificate for our own benefit but I feel like hiding the fact that your sister’s husband was murdered is a pretty big deal and risky. Someone came after me on the boardwalk only after I snuck into Peter’s office. They were watching me.”

“Or Peter was watching you,” Erica pointed out. “I can talk to Danny in hotel security tomorrow. I doubt he’ll have access to Peter’s office cameras, but he can tell me who does.”

Derek nodded. “Thanks,” he said. “You don’t have to get involved if you don’t want to, though. Clearly me just finding the death certificate put me on someone’s radar.” It also put Stiles on someone’s radar, which Derek hated himself for. That meant whoever sent the threat knew about Stiles and had been watching Derek not only in the hotel, but around town too. 

“Phsh,” Erica said and waved a hand. “I can handle myself. Anyone who messes with you messes with me.”

“And me,” Stiles chimed in, though he didn’t seem as confident as the girl. Derek appreciated it nonetheless and grabbed onto Stiles’s hand under the counter out of Erica’s line of sight. “I’m close with the local beach bums and can talk to them. You’d be surprised at the shit some of them know. One of them will for sure have something that can help.”

“Thank you guys, honestly,” Derek said, voice cracking a bit. Stiles stood up and pulled Derek to his chest. Erica came around the counter and hugged the man on his other side so he was sandwiched. Derek let out a weak laugh at the love he was receiving, but in that moment he felt safe. 

The front door opened then and Boyd walked in, tired and sweaty and carrying his things from work. He took a look at the embrace, furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, then just shrugged and walked over to join in. 

…

Their plan was enacted. Erica promised to talk to Danny the next day during her lunch break and Stiles was out on the town doing the same with the locals. Derek hung back at the hotel to do some research of his own. 

He had snuck back into his mother’s office to look at the fake death certificate and took a picture quickly. Once he was back out in the lobby, Derek sat on a couch and opened the image up on his phone. He zoomed in close to the name at the very bottom: the doctor who signed off on the cause of death. 

“Hey Derek,” someone said above him. Derek turned to see Isaac sitting down next to him on the couch. “You mind?”

Derek shook his head and slightly hid his phone from the man’s sight. “Hey,” he said then turned back to the screen. He entered the name Vincent L. Redding into google. 

“How are you doing?” Isaac continued. “I know our last talk was kind of emotional.”

Derek paused from his sleuthing and turned to face Isaac. “I’m better,” Derek said earnestly. He truly appreciated Isaac asking and caring. “Even went surfing thanks to your advice.”

The elated look on Isaac’s face made Derek happy to see. “Really?” said Isaac excitedly. “That’s amazing! Did you go alone?”

“No,” Derek said before thinking about his answer. “Um, a friend came with. I guess you could say I triggered the process and I’m starting to heal.” Derek definitely triggered something, and the closure of the truth of his father’s death will hopefully heal him not just with surfing. 

Isaac beamed. “I’m proud of you,” he said genuinely. “What are you up to?”

Derek glanced down at his phone where his google search was very clear in sight and Isaac was looking right at it. There was a picture of a middle-aged man that came up with the location Los Angeles County Medical Center next to it. “Uh,” he said. “I have to talk to this guy about something. He knows my mom and all.”

“You know Vince?” 

The question made Derek pause and stare at the man next to him. “My mother does. _You_ know him?”

Isaac nodded. “Him and my father are great friends cause he uses our practice. I’ve been treated by him every time I go to the hospital, and I’m a pretty clumsy guy. I hit my head on a rock underwater when surfing after a huge wave came over me and pushed me down. Dr. Redding stitched me up real well.”

Derek just looked at Isaac for a second and narrowed his eyes. After a brief moment of silence, he asked, “Do you want to come with me?” He figured that if this Vince guy knew Isaac, maybe he’d share more. 

Isaac looked surprised and pointed a finger at himself. “Me?”

“You,” Derek said. He grabbed Isaac’s hand and pulled him out the front doors. 

Their drive to the LAC Hospital was almost 45 minutes, and Isaac just asked confused questions the whole time about why Derek needed to talk to a doctor. Of course, Derek gave no clear answer. 

They arrived at the hospital, pulling into a visitor parking spot. The men hopped out of the vehicle and Derek felt his phone vibrate. 

First it was Stiles: _Terry over at the docks said he remembers seeing your father sail off the night he died. It was dark and he could make out a second man on board, but didn’t see his face. How’s it going on your end? Miss you :(_

Then Erica: _Got into the security room, seriously tripped out at how many cameras you guys have in this place. Danny’s gonna try and sneak me into the like ultimate command room that’s got Peter’s cameras xoxo_

Derek quickly fired back a text to each person then walked in through the hospital doors with Isaac hot on his heels. There was a nurse standing in front of the reception desk, fairly short with curly brown hair. She was flipping through papers on a clipboard when Derek approached her. 

“Hi there,” he said with his best charming smile. “I’m looking for Dr. Redding?”

The woman looked up and gave Derek and Isaac a once-over. “And you are?”

“Derek Hale,” he said and waited for her to react. People often knew the name right away and acted differently.

This woman was unaffected though. “Okay, and why do you wish to see Dr. Redding right now? Is it a medical emergency?” She put one hand on her hip. 

Derek looked down at her name tag. “Excuse me Ms. McCall,” he said, keeping his formal composure. “I just have a few questions for him about my family.”

“It’s Melissa,” she said. “And Dr. Redding is extremely busy and doesn’t have time right now to just chat, so unless you have a medical reason to see him, I’m sorry.” She shrugged and started to walk away.

Derek panicked and turned to Isaac. “Quick, act hurt,” he whispered.

“What?” Isaac whispered back, mouth agape. “You want me to-”

“Just do something!”

Isaac huffed and collapsed to the floor, head in between his hands. He let out a loud groan that caught the attention of Melissa and everyone else in the hospital waiting room. “My head!” he exclaimed. “Please, it hurts so bad.”

Derek rolled his eyes, but made eye contact with Melissa and pointed down at the man on the floor. “Isaac here only goes to see Dr. Redding, you can look up Lahey in your system. Please,” he pleaded. 

The nurse narrowed her eyes, clearly not believing any of it, but having a duty as a medical worker. “Fine,” she sighed. “Follow me.”

Derek helped Isaac off the floor, the curly-haired man still feigning pain. Melissa led them into a small room with some chairs and an examination table. Isaac sat on the table while Derek took a chair, thanking the nurse as she just huffed and closed the door behind her, leaving them alone. 

“Well that was a bit extreme,” Isaac hissed. “What are we really here for, Derek?”

Derek sighed and avoided looking at Isaac. He didn’t want to involve anyone else, but he knew Isaac wasn’t going to see through his lie. So instead, he kept it short without giving the full story. “Dr. Redding signed off on my dad’s death certificate. I found the real one, the one I had seen was forged. I just need to know what he knows.”

“Wow,” Isaac said in shock. “Oh my God! You’re living a real life Criminal Minds episode.”

The door then opened and the same man Derek had seen on the google image walked in. Isaac pretended to be hurt again, but kept glancing over at Derek.

“Isaac, good to see you again,” the doctor said. “Heard you’re having some migraines?”

“Alright let’s cut it Isaac,” Derek said and stood up. Isaac looked at him confused, but dropped the act. Derek got in the doctor’s face. They were about the same height, and the man had salt and pepper hair and dark green eyes behind wiry glasses. 

“Excuse me?” Dr. Redding said, looking between the men. “What’s going on?”

Derek motioned for Isaac to go stand in front of the door in case the doctor made a run for it. “I assume Melissa told you my name,” he said. “I’m sure you remember my father, too, Matthew Hale?”

A loud gulp came out of the doctor and he moved to sit down, Derek still glaring into him. The man was shaky and nervous, almost as awkward and flailing as Stiles, but Stiles was much more charming. “Uh y-yes Mr. Hale,” Redding said. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I remember-”

“So I assume you remember my uncle too?” Derek questioned. “The one who made you forge another certificate? You know, doctor, that’s a felony to file a forged death certificate with the state. You’d probably, oh I don’t know, lose your medical license and spend maybe three years in prison?”

“What do you want?” Vincent said in a shaky voice. There was sweat beading on his forehead and his hands were holding on tightly to the arms of the chair. Isaac was just watching the confrontation from in front of the door, looking like he might throw up. “Please, I can’t lose my license.”

“Then why forge for my uncle?!” Derek argued and sat down in the chair opposite the doctor. He was enraged and feared he might punch something if he didn’t sit. He wished more than anything in that moment that Stiles was next to him, holding his hand and calming him down. 

“I…” Redding’s voice trembled. “He said I can’t tell anyone.”

“Peter?” Derek asked. The doctor nodded. “We’re not going to tell him. Please, if you know anything that can link him to my father’s death I need to know. Dr. Redding hesitated, clearly afraid of Peter. His reaction alone told Derek that this ran deeper than just forging a certificate for the sake of protecting Talia and her kids. “Doctor, what did he do?”

The man looked between Isaac and Derek, then sighed and pulled out a pen. He wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Derek. “I wasn’t the only pawn in Peter’s game,” Vincent said. “He paid me off to keep quiet or else he’d send someone after me. Please don’t get me involved again, I didn’t mean to lie to your family! I’m just the signature. That man there on the paper will know more.”

Derek examined the handwriting. “Gerard Argent?” he read out loud. 

Isaac stepped forward to grab the paper and read it himself. “Argent? They’re really big in the shipping and boat industry. I think there’s an office down at the docks.”

“Why him?” Derek turned back to the doctor to ask. “What role did he have?”

Vincent shook his head. “All I know is he was with Peter when he asked me to sign the certificate. He was also the one to bring in your father’s boat.”

Derek stood up and walked towards the door. “Does he still have the boat?” he asked eagerly. 

“It was eight years ago,” Redding replied. “I highly doubt it, but that’s all I have, sorry.”

Derek just nodded and grabbed the paper back from Isaac. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll make sure Peter doesn’t know about this.”

The doctor smiled in relief as the men left the room. They passed Melissa again on the way out. “Feeling better?” she asked Isaac with a knowing look.

“Very,” Isaac said with a smile. 

The nurse shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but I don’t wanna know,” she said and held her hands up. “Gosh, I feel like I’m talking to Scott and Stiles.”

The last part was muttered under her breath, but Derek’s ears perked up at the unique name. “Stiles?” he repeated. Then it all clicked. Stiles had mentioned Scott’s mom, Melissa, the other day, the very one who owned Mama’s, but now apparently also worked as an ER nurse.

“Yes?” Melissa said warily. “My son’s best friend. Why?”

Derek shook his head, just in awe at the small world he lived in. “Nothing, just an interesting name,” he said, then ran out of the hospital, Isaac right behind him. Derek dialed Stiles’s number as soon as they got into his car. The surfer picked up after one ring.

“ _Hey hot stuff, how’d it go?_ ”

Derek didn’t answer his question, just asked, “You’re still at the docks right?”

“ _Uh, yeah. Why?_ ”

He looked over at Isaac, who just seemed stunned by the whole thing. It was too late now, though, and Isaac knew too much. “I’m headed that way with a friend,” Derek responded. “Wait for me?”

There was loud chatter of people around Stiles in the background. “ _Yeah, of course. Always._ ”

…

Stiles was leaning outside against his car when Derek pulled up. The surfer beamed and ran up to kiss him, but then he caught sight of Isaac and immediately backed up, just going for a totally weird high five thing instead.

“Hey,” Stiles coughed out awkwardly.

Derek rolled his eyes fondly. “We have a name to track down here. A Gerard Argent?”

Stiles’s eyes went wide. “Did you say _Argent_? That’s Allison’s grandpa.”

“Who’s Allison?” Isaac piped in.

Stiles eyed him up and down. “My best friend, Scott’s, girlfriend. I’m sorry, you are?”

“Play nice,” Derek said with a smile. He could practically smell the jealousy radiating off of Stiles. “This is Isaac, a friend. He knew the doctor so he got me in to talk to him. I guess he’s helping now.”

“And what about the part where you said you don’t want to involve anyone else?” Stiles questioned, still cautious about the third man with them.

Derek sighed, feeling caught in the middle. Stiles was trying to act tough with arms crossed and eyes narrowed at Isaac, and Isaac just looked scared to be there. “I trust him,” he muttered to Stiles and stepped close enough to him so Isaac wouldn’t overhear. Their mouths were practically centimeters apart, and all Derek wanted to do was take Stiles back to the hotel and have him all day and forget about the drama they were caught up in. “He doesn’t know everything, but enough right now. Let’s just find this Gerard and talk to him, okay?”

Derek started walking towards the buildings surrounding the shipyard, Isaac following behind like a puppy. He turned back, though, when Stiles didn’t budge. “Yeah, one problem,” Stiles said. “Gerard skipped town maybe two years back? Man did some shady shit. I can get you his son Chris, though, Allison’s dad, but she’s not going to be happy if she finds out I’m interrogating him about some murder mystery.”

Stiles pushed off the car and walked forward, taking the lead in front of the other two men. They made their way up a metal staircase to a lone door on the side of a small building. A silver plate on the door read _Supervisor_. Stiles knocked twice before a deep voice told them to come in on the other side. 

The office was small and humid. The only source of air was A cracked window and a small fan plugged into an outlet in the corner. Ahead of the door was a large, wooden desk with two chairs in front of it, and an occupied office chair behind it. The man in said chair was clicking his mouse and staring at a computer monitor. He had graying brown hair and dark scruff, and piercing blue eyes that looked into Derek’s soul when they settled on him. 

“Stiles?” What Derek assumed to be Chris Argent said. “What the hell are you doing down here? And who are your friends? I don’t know the last time I didn’t see you with people other than your group in the house.” The man’s voice was smooth and professional, and he cracked a smile at Stiles that made Derek’s shoulders be a little less tense. 

“Hey Mr. A,” Stiles greeted the man and plopped down onto one of the chairs in front of the desk. “This is Derek and Isaac. We just have a few questions about Gerard?”

Chris’s face grew dark and he cleared his throat. He stood up and grabbed a folding chair in a corner and put it down next to the other chairs, gesturing for Derek and Isaac to sit. Derek let Isaac get the more comfortable seat while he took the folding one. Chris sat back down and put his hands together, no longer focused on his computer. A ship blared it’s horn in the distance outside so loud it shook the room. 

“My father,” Chris said. “What would you like to know?”

Derek decided to just cut to the chase. “Gerard worked with my uncle Peter about eight years ago apparently,” he said. “He was the one to find my father's boat after he...supposedly drowned. Do you have anything that helps us about what business they had together? Or even my dad’s boat?”

Chris sighed. “I can tell you we don’t have the boat, that’s for sure,” he said. “Eight years ago is a long time, and a wrecked vessel wouldn’t last that long around here. My guess was it was torn apart and used for parts.”

Derek nodded, not entirely surprised. He tried not to be too sad, instead reminding himself that it was so long ago. He just wished he got to see the boat, see his father, one last time. 

Chris continued, “As for your uncle, I’ve definitely heard the name come out of Gerard's mouth. Peter Hale, huh? That makes you Derek Hale of the Lunar Coast.” He eyed Derek suspiciously and leaned back in his chair. “They were secretive together, though, Peter and Gerard. Only spoke in this office, really, so no one would overhear. Here, I may have something that’ll help.” The man stood up and walked over to a metal filing cabinet, opening the bottom drawer. After a few seconds of pushing papers aside, he pulled out a manilla folder and handed it to Derek. “When Gerard skipped, he forgot some important paperwork. Right there are receipts of Peter wiring thousands of dollars into his bank account. I believe there are other documents the men shared, so hopefully one will help.”

Derek looked down at the folder, like gold in his hands. He needed evidence, and if there was evidence in here, it could take down Peter for good. Family or not, Derek was betrayed and vengeful. He was now more confident in the fact that Peter was involved in Matthew’s murder, as every clue was too coincidental. “Thank you, truly,” said Derek. He stood up and shook Chris’s hand, Stiles and Isaac standing up as well. 

“Of course,” Chris said with a genuine smile. He turned to Stiles. “How’s Allison? She hasn’t been by in a while.”

Stiles grinned. “She’s doing great, trust me.”

The three men left the office after their last goodbyes and made their way back down to the parking lot. 

Isaac cleared his throat. “This feels like it runs deeper than a forged death certificate,” he said and crossed his arms. 

Derek sighed. “Just...don’t worry about it right now. I promise I’ll tell you everything later, okay?”

The man nodded, but didn’t seem completely satisfied with the answer. He turned around and walked towards Derek’s car, leaving Derek and Stiles alone. 

As soon as Derek turned back to face the surfer, lips were on his. He let out a surprised moan and gripped onto Stiles’s waist. They separated seconds later, both clearly hungry for more. “I’ve been waiting to do that all day,” Stiles said and took a step back in case Isaac turned back around and saw them. 

Derek beamed. “Me too,” he said excitedly.

“Come over tonight?” Stiles pleaded, and his amber eyes were impossible to resist. “It’s Scott and Allison’s date night and they’re grabbing a hotel room, Lydia’s at her mom’s, and Jackson and Malia are clubbing tonight super late.” He dropped his voice and gave Derek a look that made his stomach do flips, in a good way. “The only places we’ve been able to be alone are out in public.”

Derek quickly nodded, Stiles laughing at his eager response. He kissed Stiles one last time before backing away to walk towards his car. “Yes, absolutely yes,” he said with a wink. “I’ll be there.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI: This chapter contains sexual content, however it is not graphic as I’m not completely comfortable writing a full on descriptive sex scene (but trust me, it’s still hot)
> 
> This has also made me change the rating from Teen to Mature

Stiles was sitting on the end of his bed, knee bouncing and hands clammy. His mind was racing with a million thoughts ranging from Derek’s crazy family drama he was caught up in to how the man would be at his house in 30 minutes. He wasn’t mad that he was caught up in it, though. Stiles was elated that Derek trusted him with such a big secret, and he was more than happy to help him through it. Now, their worlds were about to come together a little more by Derek stepping into his home. 

Stiles’s small white house fortunately had just enough bedrooms for his group of friends. Scott and Allison shared a room upstairs (with some clear rules on when and _how loud_ certain activities could be), Lydia and Malia were together upstairs too, and Stiles and Jackson each had their own room downstairs. Stiles loved living with his friends and he loved his home. It was a couple streets in from the beach, but all he had to do was walk out his front door and walk straight down the road and he’d get to the access. 

“Stiles?” Malia entered his room. Her short brown hair was straightened and black eyeliner lined her eyes. She was dressed in daisy dukes and a tight, black mesh top that was see through to a bralette underneath. “Hey, you sure you don’t want to join Jackson and I?” Her tone of voice was begging him, but she tried to keep her cool. She sat down on the bed next to Stiles and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Not tonight,” he said, butterflies still erupting in his stomach at the thought of Derek. A part of him felt bad that he was sitting here with a girl who had feelings for him, unable to tell her that he’s falling in love with a man. “Go have fun.”

Malia pouted her lips and sat up again. “It would be more fun with you there, though,” she said. “Come on! Drinking, dancing, just letting loose.” 

Her face was dangerously close to Stiles’s, and her eyes darted down to his lips. He quickly turned away before she got any ideas, not wanting to jeopardize their friendship. He never tried to flirt back, especially not recently. They had a good thing going, and the last thing he needed was to be stuck in even more drama with someone he lives with. 

They sat in awkward silence for a second before she stood up and brushed off her clothes. “Alright, maybe next time?”

Stiles nodded and gave the girl a smile. “Yeah totally. Just gonna stay in and chill tonight.” And maybe—hopefully—get laid by the hottest man in Malibu.

“Cool, see you later,” Malia said sadly and walked out of the room, leaving Stiles and his nerves. 

After he heard the front door open and shut, Stiles walked out of his bedroom too and into the living room. Scott and Allison were near the front door, a bag each in hand. Jackson had left with Malia and Lydia was already long gone. 

“Hey bro,” Scott greeted him. “We’re about to head out. I’ll be at the shop tomorrow though in time for my shift.”

Stiles smiled and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. He was happy for Scott and Allison. They were literally perfect for each other. Anyone who saw them would agree, especially with the way they were giggling and staring at each other lovingly. 

“Oh hey,” Allison said as Scott opened the door. “My dad said you stopped by?”

That caught Scott’s attention too. “You went to go see Mr. Argent?” he laughed. “Why?”

Stiles didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t good at lying to his best friends. “Um, what did your dad tell you exactly?” he asked Allison nervously. 

“Just that you were with a friend asking about an old boat,” she shrugged, confused as to why Stiles was doing such a thing. 

“You have friends other than us?” Scott teased, and Stiles flipped him off. 

“Get out of here lovebirds,” he just said with a laugh, and sent the couple out the door, closing it behind them. 

As soon as he was alone the silence was deafening. A pit settled in Stiles’s stomach, and he quickly ran around, fixing the barely crooked pillows, picking up stray towels and bathing suits out to dry, and panicking as he tried to think of a place to get dinner from. What did Derek even like? Mexican? Pizza? Indian? He was snapped out of it by a text. Stiles took his phone out, nearly dropping it from his spastic state. 

_I’m picking up thai food on my way over, that good with you?_

Yes thai, thai was good. He shot back a quick response, breathing a sigh of relief that dinner no longer was an issue. His phone buzzed again.

_I can't wait for tonight, to finally be alone_

The message sent shivers down Stiles’s spine. His thumbs hovered over the keyboard for a second, slightly shaky from his anxiety settling in. 

_me too, you have no idea what I’ve been waiting to do to you ;)_

Was that too forward? Was the winky face unnecessary? Before Stiles could talk himself out of it he hit send and threw his phone on the couch so he didn’t have to worry about it while he finished up making his messy house look somewhat presentable. Everyone was fairly good at keeping their own messes to their rooms, but of course with six people in one house things crept out into the common spaces. Stiles picked up a pair of discarded swim trunks and even a stand up paddle from the ground, just tossing them into Jackson’s room because it was the closest space Derek wouldn’t see. He’d deal with Jackson later. 

Stiles worked on his own bedroom next, making his navy blue sheets, straightening the surfboards he had leaning against the wall in a corner, and throwing dirty clothes into the closet. The room wasn’t big at all, and now that he sat and stared around at it, he sort of felt self conscious. Derek’s room was big and modern with its own private balcony, walk in closet, and en suite bathroom. He lived in a freakin penthouse that was literally bigger than Stiles’s whole house. What if Derek felt dirty in his room? What if he judged the size and didn’t want to stay?

No, Derek wouldn’t do that. He’s not that type of guy, at least, Stiles thinks he’s not. He realized there’s not even that much they know about each other (well, except for the major family mystery Stiles now knew every detail of), heck they only met like a month ago. 

These thoughts terrified Stiles, and he crawled up in a ball on his mattress. He was so enamored with Derek, the thought of not being with him already made him want to rip his heart out. It was so new and exciting but so sudden and nerve wracking like sitting at the top of a rollercoaster, not knowing when you were going to plunge towards the ground at any moment. 

His panicked state lasted so long, the next thing Stiles knew his doorbell was ringing. The heavy feeling settled into his chest again and his hands were trembling as he ran to the door and turned the knob. 

Derek Hale was beautiful. He was sporting just a green henley shirt and black jeans as it was a cooler night out. His dark scruff sculpted his sharp cheekbones perfectly and his eyes popped from the color of his shirt. In one hand was a takeout bag that already let out the delicious smell of drunken noodles, and in his other hand was a bouquet of red roses. 

“You big sap,” Stiles chuckled as he accepted the flowers. “Come in.” His heart was beating out of his chest as Derek entered his home and took off his shoes. Stiles walked into the kitchen and got a vase for the flowers. Derek set the food down on the island.

Strong arms wrapped around Stiles’s waist from behind as he cut the flowers and put them in the water immediately. Derek pressed a light kiss to Stiles’s neck and if they weren’t pressed together, Stiles thinks he’d go weak in the knees and fall down. 

“I love your place,” Derek whispered into Stiles’s ear, and that was reassurance enough that it was a judgement-free zone. Stiles turned around, back against the counter and Derek’s arms now on either side of him, caging him in. 

“Thanks,” Stiles said. He could tell they were both a little nervous. Derek’s breath was sort of shaky and his cheeks were blushing pink. To ease both of their nerves, Stiles grabbed Derek’s face with two hands and smashed their mouths together for a hard, passionate kiss. Tongues came out and moans were released as they were able to satisfy some of their hunger for each other. 

Stiles had another hunger to satisfy too, though, obvious by the sound of his stomach rumbling interrupting their kiss. He glared down at the source of the noise and Derek chuckled. “Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold,” Derek said and backed up, freeing Stiles. 

The pout on Stiles’s lips got kissed away quickly and they walked over to a table between the open kitchen and the living room. Derek opened up styrofoam containers and dished the food out onto plates that Stiles brought over. Usually he and his friends would utilize paper plates and plastic utensils, but tonight he was feeling fancy and a bit under pressure by his own overthinking brain so he broke out some ceramic dishes that probably hadn’t been used in months. 

The moan that came out of Stiles’s mouth once he took a bite of the food was borderline pornographic. He didn’t miss how Derek slightly choked on his own bite and his face grew redder. “Whoops,” Stiles said cockily with a smirk. He was feeling more confident as the night went on, relishing in the way the man in front of him was flustered.

Apparently two can play at that game though, as Derek pulled the fork out of his mouth slowly, mirroring Stiles’s moan. “This is so good,” he said in a low voice that echoed in Stiles’s head over and over again and oh how he wished to have captured that on tape to listen to it later. 

Stiles just stared at him. Derek raised his eyebrows as an innocent gesture to ask what’s up. “You know exactly what you’re doing Hale,” he said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Derek said innocently, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he scraped up more food and shoved it into his mouth. He wouldn’t look up to make eye contact. 

Stiles shook his head in disbelief. So this was how it was going to go. He stood up suddenly, startling Derek who dropped his fork as Stiles walked up to him and proceeded to sit on Derek’s lap, legs on either side straddling the man. 

“I think you do,” Stiles said quietly, both of their breathing picking up. They stared into each other’s eyes, Derek’s hands coming to grip onto the top of Stiles’s thighs right near the joint to his hips. 

“Stiles.”

Derek Hale whispering his name was officially the sexiest thing Stiles had ever heard, and he really wanted to hear that whispered again into his ear horizontally declined in his bed with a lot less clothes, so he took the initiative and dove in again. This kiss was more passionate than the last, all clashing teeth and tongues and lips sliding against each other. Stiles gripped onto Derek’s short hair as the man’s fingers dug deeper into his legs. One of Derek’s hands came up to snake under Stiles’s t-shirt and feel up and down his bare back. “Stiles,” Derek said between kisses and groans. “The food-”

“We can finish it later,” was Stiles’s response, and it seemed to be exactly what Derek wanted to hear as he reattached their lips and stood up, carrying Stiles with ease.

“Bedroom,” Derek mumbled and Stiles just pointed down the hallway. 

They crashed through his bedroom door and immediately fell onto the bed, Derek on top of Stiles, never breaking the kiss. They made out passionately for nearly a minute more before Derek leaned up and nearly ripped off his henley to expose his bare torso. Stiles’s breath hitched at the sight of the man, body illuminated only by the moonlight shining through the window and a little bit of light creeping in through the doorway. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and ran a hand from Derek’s collarbone down to his stomach, because he could. He could touch Derek all over with no worry of some stranger judging them or being seen by a friend. They were alone and together and Stiles wanted every inch of Derek under his hands. 

“Your turn,” Derek said with a dark and sinful look in his eyes that made Stiles obey immediately and allow the man to take off his shirt. Once they were both half naked, their bodies pressed back together, they continued their steamy make out session with a desperate and bruising kiss. Stiles was glad he was laying down, for his knees felt weak and his body melted into the mattress under Derek’s weight. All he could focus on was how right it felt, how soft the man’s lips were against his, and how Derek’s hands moving and touching him everywhere set fire to his skin. 

Stiles felt alive. He parted his lips and allowed Derek to take over every sense of his like a tidal wave of warmth and pleasure. There was no telling where one man ended and the other started, for they were completely wrapped up in each other. Stiles had had hookups, but this was different. There was raw emotion in the way their fingers curled together above Stiles’s head and the smell and taste of Derek was hypnotic beyond reason. 

Derek backed off for only a second to stare deeply into Stiles’s eyes before claiming his mouth again, hungry and intense. Stiles decided to switch things up as he locked his ankles around Derek’s waist and flipped them over so that he was on top, straddling the man again. He couldn’t help but move his hips down as if it was a primal instinct to claim his territory and get as close as possible. The guttural groan that it elicited from Derek said enough to make Stiles do it again and again until he established a steady rhythm that made both men completely fall into each other. 

Then, Derek’s burning touch crept lower and lower until it radiated near Stiles’s waistband. “Is this okay?” Derek asked as his hand traveled down.

Stiles nearly fell apart right there. “Shit,” he croaked. “Yeah...yes.” Those were the only words he was able to get out, and Derek took it as a signal to attack again, taking over and dominating the mattress, flipping Stiles over one last time in order to unbutton and rip his pants off completely. 

Stiles liked to say he was fairly confident in the bedroom. He was fit from surfing and experienced from his high school and college days. Now, though, it was like his first time all over again. All he wanted to do was please Derek in every way he could, but he felt like the man’s touch was unraveling a package that had never been opened in his life before. 

Derek’s pants were off seconds later, both eager to be completely each other’s. The adrenaline rush made Stiles nearly forget how to breath, either that or the angelic physique of Derek Hale completely vulnerable, yet utterly possessive, above him. They were finally completely discarded of clothes, and just took a second to take each other in. 

“You’re gorgeous,” Stiles found himself spitting out.

The man leaning over him swooped down for another sensual press of their lips, this time slower with less tongue and more emotion. While their mouths were occupied with each other, Stiles reached over blindly into his bedside drawer and pulled out a tiny bottle and a foil packet. Derek’s eyes caught it and they separated again as the man looked at the objects, then back at Stiles with a new expression of lust on his face. 

“I want you,” Stiles moaned out. “Please.” He wasn’t usually the pleading type, but with Derek he felt like the man could protect him and care for his body in ways that no one had ever been able to before. 

“Fuck, Stiles,” Derek said in a deep tone of voice and grabbed the items. “You drive me crazy.”

Stiles preened from the praise and wrapped his legs around Derek again so that every inch of skin was flush against each other. “Then show me just how much.”

…

After the best ten minutes of Stiles’s life, he laid on his bed staring up at the ceiling. His skin was flushed and sweaty and he was panting, but the overwhelming feeling inside of him made it all worth it. 

Derek returned from the bathroom in the hallway and tossed a wadded up piece of toilet paper in the trash. They were both still naked, but completely comfortable with each other. Derek beamed as he threw himself onto the bed and on top of a startled Stiles, attacking the man’s face with kisses all over. 

“That was amazing,” Stiles said and ran a hand through Derek’s hair as the man stared down at him, face only hovering inches above. 

“You’re amazing,” Derek said genuinely and pressed a long, soft kiss to Stiles’s neck. 

Stiles sighed from the complete state of happiness he was in. In his small bedroom, in his bed that took up the majority of the space, he was safe with Derek next to him. They were safe from whoever threatened Derek, from Peter, from the nosy media world that wanted to know who was the next person to get into Derek Hale’s pants (although, Stiles felt pretty smug that it was him).

Derek collapsed onto Stiles’s chest and buried his head into Stiles’s neck. It was completely different behavior from the dominant, dark, and hungry state the man was in only a short while ago. “So you’re a post-sex cuddler, huh?” Stiles teased, and Derek just hummed into his skin as a response. Stiles’s arms came up to hold the large body on top of him and he ran his fingers gently through the hair on the back of Derek’s head. 

“I don’t ever want to leave right here,” Derek mumbled. 

Stiles smiled towards his ceiling, heart full of joy. “Me neither, but there will come a time where my roommates will get home.”

“Shh,” Derek said and blindly tried to hold up a finger to Stiles’s lips. He ended up hitting the surfer’s cheek instead. “Don’t focus on that now.”

Stiles chuckled and kissed the tip of the finger gently. “Fine, I won’t.”

A phone ringer started to go off somewhere on the floor. Both men groaned, knowing someone had to answer it. “That’s totally yours,” Stiles said. 

With a grunt, Derek pushed himself up and fished around on the floor for the cell phone that was stuffed into the back pocket of his jeans. “It’s Erica,” he told Stiles and hit the answer button. “What’s up, E?”

Stiles couldn’t hear the woman’s voice on the other end of the line, but he immediately sat up when he saw Derek’s face fall and his skin grow pale. “Derek?” he asked and rubbed a hand up and down the man’s back. “What is it?”

Derek didn’t answer, too focused on the girl on the other end of the line. There was clearly something wrong and the mood in the room changed instantly. A few seconds later, Derek said, “I’ll be right there”, hung up, then quickly started to pull on his discarded clothes. 

“Derek!” Stiles called after him, starting to get dressed himself. “What happened?”

Derek ran out of the room, Stiles hot on his heels. “She…” he hesitated. “Someone broke into Erica’s house while her and Boyd were out. They’re at the hotel now, but she said they left a threatening message. I have to go see her.”

“Oh my God,” Stiles said. “I’ll go with you.” Derek nodded and the two men left the house together and jumped into Derek’s car. He pulled out into Stiles’s street and sped towards the hotel along the road that ran next to the beach. The moon was eerie now over the water, whereas before it was a spotlight on an amazing night. 

Derek’s knee was bouncing and he stayed silent throughout the car ride, so Stiles put a hand on the leg to try and steady it. “Did she call the police?” Stiles questioned. 

Derek zoomed around every curve and turn, not paying much attention to speed limits. “No,” he shook his head. “Apparently part of the message was that if she called the cops, they’d go after Boyd, knew his station number and everything.” His voice was trembling, but Stiles’s touch was clearly comforting him a little bit. Suddenly, Derek hit his steering wheel with a cry, causing Stiles to jump a little bit. “I knew getting her involved would end up with something like this! Shit, now they’re going to go after Isaac. I already knew I messed up when they threatened you, too.”

Stiles froze. “What?” he said nervously. Derek seemed to have caught what came out of his mouth, and he glanced over to Stiles quickly. “They...they threatened _me_? And you didn’t _tell_ me?!”

“Stiles, I-,” Derek hesitated. He pulled the SUV into his special parking spot outside of the hotel. They both hopped out of the car, but as Derek reached for Stiles, the surfer backed away. “Please, I was trying to keep you safe and not scare you. I thought it was an empty threat!”

“You said they threatened to _murder_ you like your father, Derek!” Stiles exclaimed, anxiety building in his chest. “If they threaten me too, that’s not exactly something you keep from me! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me when my own life is in danger. Do you know how fucked up that is?” 

Derek’s face was broken. His eyes were glassy and his mouth was agape as if he was trying to find the words to say. Stiles scoffed in disbelief. He felt betrayed, felt lied to, but most importantly he was terrified. “Please, let me explain,” Derek said and took a step towards Stiles, but the man only kept retreating. 

It was getting progressively harder for Stiles to breathe. He was gasping for air and the world was spinning around him. Even in his panicked state, though, he still didn’t let Derek get near him. He held up a hand to stop the guy from getting any closer. “Just stay away,” Stiles choked out. A part of him, though, was clawing to be comforted by Derek, to wipe the sadness off of the man’s face, but a secret as big as this was like a dagger to the heart, especially on a night that had been so perfect so far. It made Stiles question what else Derek was keeping from him. 

“Stiles,” Derek pleaded one last time.

“No, just leave me alone please,” Stiles fought and started to back away. He needed to get out of there. “Go check on Erica, wish her my best. I just...I need to go.”

He was aware of the way Derek was screaming his name behind him, but Stiles didn’t turn back. He walked towards the boardwalk, trying to let the salt air fill his lungs and the sound of laughter and chatter distract him from the deafening beat of his own heart in his chest.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the third to last chapter as I am ready to wrap up this story and head onto a new project that will hopefully do better. A lot of important things happen here, though, so I hope you enjoy and please leave feedback!

Derek stumbled through the hotel doors, a choked sob leaving his lips. He barely had enough time to register what just happened between him and Stiles before Erica’s arms were wrapped around his neck, her own cries muffled into his skin. 

“Erica,” he said sadly, trying to push Stiles out of his mind for that moment to be there for his best friend. “I’m so sorry I involved you in this. Are you okay?”

Boyd came up behind her, gently rubbing her back while giving Derek a sad look. Erica sniffled a few times before backing up to face her friend. The girl’s eyes grew worried though when she saw Derek’s own tears that matched her own. “Why are you crying?” she asked, genuinely concerned despite her own problem going on. 

Derek smiled lovingly, admiring how she cared for him so deeply with her being sad herself. It was the same way for him, though, so he just shook his head dismissively. “Don’t worry about me. Did they hurt you? What happened?”

The three of them were in the middle of the hotel lobby, so they walked over to a small nook on one side, Boyd and Erica cuddling up on a couch while Derek sat in the armchair. “We were out for only an hour to get food and pick something up,” Erica said in a shaky voice. Boyd’s arm was around her shoulders, gripping them tight. “The place was trashed when we got home...things thrown around and broken and a big message on the wall about how I should warn you to stop looking. Then they threatened B-Boyd too.” 

Derek turned to the man, who shed no tear but still held sadness for his girlfriend. “So I assume she told you everything?” Derek asked him. 

Boyd nodded, a man of few words. “We both know this wasn’t your fault, though,” he replied.

“Yes,” Erica said and sat up to put a hand on Derek’s knee. “Please, don’t feel bad! I listened to what you told me about everything because I wanted to know what was wrong, then it was my choice to get involved and work with Danny. Someone’s watching us, though, D. Someone dangerous.”

“I know,” Derek groaned and rubbed a hand over his tired face. Someone dangerous was watching them, and the note that was dropped to him the day before didn’t seem so empty now, which meant someone was watching Stiles, too. Stiles, who had just headed off into the night alone, angered and in a vulnerable state. Derek’s stomach dropped. “Shit.”

He hastily took out his phone and hit Stiles’s number. It rang...and rang...and rang, until the man’s smooth voice came over on the answering machine. Derek let out a frustrated yell and threw his phone down, allowing himself to collapse into tears. What had he gotten himself into? How was he supposed to uncover a murder plot from eight years ago? 

“What’s that?” Erica pointed to the manilla folder in Derek’s hand, her composure more relaxed now under Boyd’s touch. 

Derek stared down at where she was pointing. He hadn’t even realized he had grabbed it from the car, it sitting in there since his earlier conversation with Chris Argent. A realization settled in that he didn’t know everything that was in this folder yet, and that there may likely be something that could take down Peter. 

He stood up abruptly. “Come on, I don’t feel comfortable opening this up in here,” he said and started to walk back towards the front of the hotel. 

Erica and Boyd followed Derek out into the night. As soon as they turned out of the revolving doors, someone smacked straight into Derek’s chest with a groan.

“Isaac!” Derek exclaimed in surprise.

Isaac looked at the group, at Derek’s serious and mission-set expression, and physically deflated. “Let me guess, I’m coming with?”

“Yep, you’re coming with,” Derek said and turned the man back around with a hand on his back. 

As they walked down the boardwalk, Derek kept trying Stiles’s phone, but the man was clearly ignoring him, as it would ring once and go straight to voicemail now as if the call was declined. He felt nervus that Stiles was out there on his own. Hopefully he had headed home, but all of his friends were out and they had taken Derek’s car. 

“Come on, pick up Stiles,” Derek mumbled to himself. 

“Where are we going?” Erica spoke up, just following Derek out of trust. 

Derek turned suddenly off the boardwalk. “To somewhere I know for sure doesn’t have any hidden cameras or bugs.”

He took off his shoes so his toes could curl around the soft, fluffy white sand of the beach. They headed down near the water so the sound of crashing waves would separate their conversations from any eavesdropping. The foursome plopped down onto the sand in a circle, each one curious to see what was in the folder in the middle of them. Derek reached nervous hands out to slowly open it up. Everyone was staring intensely down towards the folder, Isaac shining his phone flashlight so they could see. 

The papers on top were the receipts Chris had mentioned before. Peter had transferred thousands of dollars to Gerard eight years ago...right after Matthew Hale’s death. Derek handed the papers to Erica so everyone could read them why he went on to the next sheet. 

“Do you think…” she started, ready to say what everyone was thinking. “...that Gerard was a hit man? And your uncle paid him to, you know…”

Derek shrugged, keeping his face tight and emotionless to just get through all of the documents before breaking down again. The next piece of paper was another copy of the forged death certificate, Redding’s familiar signature at the bottom. That officially connected Gerard to all of it, the pieces of the puzzle starting to settle in. 

Next, Derek pulled out a newspaper clipping from eight years ago. His breath hitched as he took in a big, colored image of his dad smiling on the front. He remembered that picture, because he was the one to take it after Matthew and him went fishing and his father caught a huge fish that made him grin from ear to ear. 

_”Here Der, let me hold it up next to my face and you snap a pic to send mom!”_ his dad had said excitedly. 

Derek also remembered this newspaper article. The headline above it read: _Famous Malibu Hotel Owner Drowns at Sea_. What Derek didn’t notice all those years ago, though, was the name of the article writer right underneath the picture. 

Kate Argent.

Another Argent, so clearly paid tremendously to play a role in covering up the truth about the death. “Holy shit,” Isaac muttered once he saw the name too. “That’s Gerard’s daughter. Your boyfriend’s friend, that Allison girl, her family’s got some crazy ties to yours.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Derek mumbled sadly, thoughts of his fight with Stiles breaking through the barrier he had attempted to put up. Erica caught on to his melancholic tone, flashing Derek a look that said they were definitely talking about it later. 

“Derek, look at this,” Boyd said and pulled out the next document, handing it over to Derek slowly, as if he was afraid of the man’s reaction.

Derek gave Boyd a confused look, but then he looked down at the paper. It was a handwritten letter written in the same handwriting Derek had grown up learning every curve and flick of. His father liked to be old school and wrote him and his sisters numerous letters instead of sending texts or emails when he was away. This particular note, though, was addressed to Peter and read:

_Brother,_

_I’ve received your message, but politely disagree to disregard your father’s wishes. With the new discovery of his will, and as his executor, it is my job to ensure that what is written is carried out. While he has left you a great amount of money, the Lunar Coast is supposed to be only in Talia’s hands, and I will not let her forfeit her rights so that you can earn more money with underground deals. The hotel is a legacy for my children, especially Derek, and you can’t take away what their grandfather wanted for them. I’m sorry brother, but with your plans to sell the hotel and deceive my family, I’m taking the will to the courthouse and eradicating your partial ownership. I’m leaving on my annual solo fishing trip in a few days, so we can discuss any further questions you have when I get back. Best regards,_

_Matthew_

“Oh...my…” Derek trailed off. He felt like he was going to throw up. Isaac snatched the letter to read it too, Erica peering over his shoulder. They both looked up at Derek, the same expression as him, once they realized what this meant. Derek hopped up on his feet and started pacing, breath growing shallower. “He...he told me, told all of us that there was no will of my grandfather’s. Peter said that the hotel was always meant to be run by him and my mom.” He then noticed the date. “The fishing trip was the one he died on. Peter must have received this letter-”

“And sent Gerard after Matthew,” Erica finished up quietly, everyone stunned by the discovery. “And who’s going to hear a gunshot from the middle of the ocean?”

“Stiles said someone saw another man on my father’s boat when he left,” Derek said, still pacing and panicking as his whole life crashed around him, everything he knew about his family. “My dad went on these fishing trips alone. Gerard shot my father at Peter’s command, and since Gerard worked as the dock supervisor, he was able to clean up the scene of the crime easily. Then Peter had the money to pay everyone off and make it seem like an accident to the news...and to us.”

“Derek!” Isaac exclaimed, causing everyone’s attention to snap to him. He stood up and shoved one last document into the man’s hands.

Derek read it carefully over and over again, making sure what he was reading was real. “My grandfather’s will,” he said in shock. This folder, this piece of paper and all of the probable cause for Peter to kill Matthew, was exactly what he needed to take his uncle down and stop him from selling the hotel and getting away with millions of dollars and a murder under his belt. “We need to go back to the hotel. I have to talk to my mom.”

…

Talia Hale was famous for being a strong and independent single mother. She had endured her husband’s death and raising three kids with dignity and drive. Derek rarely saw his mom fall apart, especially since she spent a year grieving Matthew. After that whole ordeal, it was as if she had cried so much there was no more saltwater left in her body to come out. 

Now, though, Talia was reliving her husband’s death, because now she was finding out the truth. It broke Derek’s heart to see his mother doubled over, hiding her face in her hands as she sobbed to him. All of the documents of Derek’s journey to the truth were laid out in front of her on her desk, Erica standing behind them while Derek hugged his mom. 

They had run back to the hotel quickly after having enough reasoning to pin this on Peter. The man being accused was fortunately out for the night, so Derek had no fear storming into Talia’s office and letting her know the terrible things her brother had done. 

“Derek,” she said quietly once she calmed down a bit, but her voice was still shaky and strained. “Hand me my phone, please.” He obeyed, and the woman dialed a number into the device. As soon as the other line picked up, Talia’s face was cold and determined, a look of determination to lock Peter up on her face as she relayed her ordeal to what seemed to be an investigator.

Erica and Derek quietly slipped out of the office and into the hallway to let her be alone. Derek collapsed against the wall and his friend rubbed his shoulders generously. Derek cried into her chest, a hundred pound weight being lifted off of his shoulder. “You did this,” Erica said sweetly into his ear. She was a comforting warmth around him, her familiar scent of saltwater and lime permeating his nostrils and easing his stress. “You took him down.”

“Derek?! What’s going on?” Laura called from the end of the hallway. Derek’s two sisters ran towards them, both concerned to see their brother crying on the ground, for Derek didn’t cry often. 

“Mom just told us to come down,” Cora said nervously. “It sounded really important.”

Erica helped Derek to his feet and he immediately wrapped both of his sisters in a bone-crushing hug. They let out squeals of surprise at the public display of affection. The door then opened behind them, and Talia stood there quietly. Her eyes were bloodshot and her skin a bit flushed, but her posture was collected and proper. Her presence was unbothered and mature, and Derek truly believed that if anyone walked down the hall at that moment they wouldn’t think anything was wrong with Talia unless they looked extra closely. 

“Girls,” she said stoically. “Your brother and I have to tell you something.”

Ten minutes later, Cora and Laura were caught up on everything, each unleashing their own emotions at the shocking news. Although Derek was the closest with their father, Matthew Hale was a man who loved all of his children with his entire being. The siblings had grieved the pain of a terrible accident that had taken their dad away, but now to hear it was actually their uncle, a man they had trusted their whole life, changed everything. 

“So what’s happening to Peter?” Laura said in between cries. 

Talia let out a deep sigh. “An investigator I have worked with before is looking over the papers Derek gave me now. He will take Derek’s statement of everything he witnessed, as well as interview Dr. Redding and Chris Argent. It should be enough to lock Peter up. Oh,” she opened up her computer and clicked through a few things before turning the screen to her children. “I also found these, Derek.”

On the screen was a thread of emails between Peter and an unknown handle. “The person who threatened you and Erica,” Talia continued. “That was simply an empty warning set up by Peter paying some teenage prankster a couple thousand. He wanted to scare you to stop looking into things.”

Derek felt the lightest he had felt all night at those news. Being apart from Stiles had sent him into a down spiral of panic and fear of the man being out there alone. Stiles still hadn’t returned any calls or texts, but now at least he was safe. “Thank God,” he said with a sigh. “I was afraid that-”

He was cut off by his phone ringing. The name that flashed on the screen was the very man Derek had just been thinking about. He eagerly hit answer and held the phone up to his ear, walking to the corner of the office to get a little bit away from his family. “Stiles,” he breathed out in relief. “You have no idea-”

“ _Derek._ ”

That was all Stiles had to say for Derek to know something was wrong. That one whisper of his name was full of so much fright that Derek’s heart dropped to his stomach. 

“ _Derek I think your uncle is here...at my house.”_ Stiles was keeping his voice down, but it was still audibly trembling. “ _He’s outside, I think he has a g-gun Derek oh my God._ ”

Derek raced out of the office, his sisters and mother worriedly chasing after him. Erica, who had still been sitting outside in the hallway waiting, stood up and looked his way. “What’s wrong?” she questioned. 

Derek’s heart was racing faster than it ever had. He had never been so determined to get to someone in his life. “Call the police! I’ll text you the address. I have to go!” he said with a cry, then spoke back into his phone. “I’m coming, Stiles, I’m coming for you.”

…

Derek had never driven so fast in his life. It was even faster than earlier when he was racing to Erica. No laws were on his mind as he pulled out his phone to text his friend Stiles’s home address and what the situation was. She responded that she was calling the cops immediately and to be careful. Looking down at his phone made Derek nearly hit another car, but he swerved back into his lane and took every turn needed to make it to Stiles’s house. 

When he pulled up in front of the small home he had been at earlier that night under much different circumstances, it was eerily quiet. None of Stiles’s friends were home yet and the lights were all off inside. What really scared Derek, though, was the fact that he didn’t see Peter anywhere on the premises yet, which meant the man was probably already in the house. 

Derek didn’t have a weapon, but he had an overwhelming need to protect Stiles, to do anything for the man. He was walking into a dangerous situation, but he knew that if he didn’t barge through Stiles’s front door, Peter was going to get away with another murder. 

Once he made it inside the unlocked door, there was no sight of Peter or Stiles. The house was exactly how they had left it earlier, discarded Thai food on the table and a dozen red roses visible in the kitchen. Derek stepped quietly, hoping Peter didn’t know he was here yet so he wouldn’t act in defense and make a move Derek couldn’t stop. 

“Please,” a shaky voice, Stiles’s voice, came from the direction of his bedroom. 

A familiar voice followed after it. Derek crept down the hall and stood outside of the open doorway, out of view of the two men inside. “I told Derek to back off,” Peter cried. He sounded just as delirious and panicked as the rest of them. “I warned him! Ever since I caught him in my office I watched him, watched my nephew with _you_. I knew you were the leverage I needed, but he still didn’t stop... _meddling_!”

Derek peered around the doorframe, just able to get a glimpse of Stiles sitting on the edge of his bed, hands up in defense and tears rolling down his cheeks. Peter was standing in front of him, gun cocked and aimed in between the man’s eyes. 

“I spent years, thousands of dollars, covering up what I did to Matthew. Do you think I _liked_ killing my own brother-in-law?!” Peter exclaimed, a maniacal and fearful laugh escaping his lips. His hand was shaking where it was holding the gun. “He was about to take everything away from me, though, everything! I won’t kill another family member, but I seem to be going to jail for murder anyways. Why not drive it home by killing _you_ instead? That’ll ruin Derek’s life like he ruined mine for sure.”

“Peter!” Derek revealed himself. Both pairs of eyes in the bedroom flashed to him. Stiles looked shocked and hopeful, while Peter was enraged. He aimed the gun at Derek for a split second, who held up his hands too, but then it was back on Stiles. “Please, think about what you’re doing.” He tried to plead in a calm voice to not anger the man anymore. 

“Oh I’m thinking,” Peter said with wide eyes. He flailed the gun around as he spoke, scaring both Derek and Stiles. “I’m thinking about how you, you little _bitch_ , just had to find that death certificate. You just had to look into it, huh? Why couldn’t you have left it alone and waltzed back to your next gala like the rest of the kids in our society? And now I hear you’ve fallen for this beach scum. I’m doing you a favor Derek. If the media caught you guys together it would be a knife to the reputation your mother and I have built.”

“You were the knife,” Derek argued back. “You ruined that reputation as soon as you had my father killed. Yes, you’re going to jail. Do you want to add to that sentence by killing someone else?”

Peter hesitated for a second, but then the sound of police sirens outside the house snapped him out of it. He released the safety, and aimed the gun back at Stiles. The surfer clenched his eyes shut, unable to keep in his cries of fear. “I have nothing to come back to after jail,” Peter said.

Derek ran forward as soon as Peter pulled the trigger. A gunshot went off, but it missed Stiles by a hair, instead firing into the wall behind his bed. Stiles let out a gasp of relief, then turned to see Derek on the floor struggling with his uncle. Peter still had the gun in his hand, but Derek was attempting to wrestle it out of his hand. They fought back and forth until Peter got the upperhand and stood up, aiming the gun down at Derek now. “Maybe I can kill another family member,” he cried out. 

Before another shot could be fired, though, a loud thump came from Stiles hitting Peter on the back of the head with one of his surfboards that had been leaning on the wall behind the man. The gun clattered to the ground as Derek’s uncle fell over, knocked unconscious. Both Stiles and Derek just stared down in shock at what just happened, then looked at each other. Both were crying, now from relief, as they collapsed into each other’s arms. 

“I’m so sorry,” Derek sobbed into Stiles’s neck as he held onto his lover for dear life. “God, you’re okay.” He felt like he had his whole world back in his hands. 

“It’s okay!” Stiles said back in between his own sobs. “I forgive you Derek. I know you were trying to protect me, and you did.” He nudged Peter with his foot. “You saved my life, my true knight in shining armor.”

Derek chuckled and attacked Stiles’s mouth with his own. They kissed like it was their last breath of air, just taking each other in and silently promising themselves that they weren’t going to leave each other. 

A group of cops busted through the door, guns up. The man in the front took a look at Peter on the ground, weapon discarded next to him, and signaled for his men to ease up. “Looks like you got him,” the police officer said proudly. 

Stiles narrowed his eyes, then a big smile came over his face. “Jordan?” he exclaimed excitedly. 

The cop, Jordan, Derek assumed, seemed to recognize Stiles too and he ran up to the man to tackle him in a big bro hug. “Stiles? Wow,” Jordan said. 

Stiles stepped back and turned to Derek. “This is Jordan Parrish, he was a deputy underneath my dad. He was kind of like a big brother to me.”

Derek smiled, matching Stiles’s happiness as he shook the man’s hand. “Derek,” he introduced himself. “And that would be my uncle Peter. I assume you’ve been updated on what he did?”

Jordan nodded as two of his men flipped Peter over to cuff him and get him to his feet. “The investigator will have all of the evidence to lock him away for a long time tomorrow. For now, we can take him in for attempted murder, though. You won’t see your uncle for a while.”

Derek put an arm around Stiles’s shoulder, pulling him in tight and pressing a loving kiss to the side of his head. “Good,” he said, and watched as the cops dragged Peter out of the room, and out of his life for a long time.


	14. Chapter 14

The story of Peter was the headline of every tabloid, blog, and news station over the next couple of days. Someone had managed to record the man being escorted out of Stiles’s house in handcuffs, then all of the calls started to come into the hotel asking what happened, was it safe to stay there, and if they could interview Talia. 

The woman was exhausted to say the least and Derek hated seeing her that way, but he also saw how relieved she was to not be lied to anymore. Cleaning up after Peter’s mess required effort and time by every Hale family member and every employee at the Lunar Coast in order to maintain their reputation as a prestigious hotel in Malibu. 

“Mom?” Derek knocked on his mother’s bedroom door. Her voice welcomed him in from the other side, and when he entered she was putting on diamond earrings in a rush, a formal red dress hugging her body and nude heels on her feet. 

“Hey sweetie,” she greeted him and wrapped her son in a hug once she got the earrings in. “What’s up?” Another change Derek noticed was that his family had grown even closer. Talia hugged them all twice as much as she used to, and they spent evenings around the dinner table sharing what was going on in each other’s lives instead of living as ships passing in the night. 

One thing Derek still hadn’t mentioned was Stiles. Laura interrogated him, like he expected, but she still kept it a secret. That didn’t mean she didn’t pressure him to tell Cora and their mother about the man, though. “Are you headed out?” Derek said.

Talia checked her phone to view the time. “I was going to head down early before the banquet to make sure everything was right, but I have ten minutes,” she said and sat on the end of her bed, inviting Derek to do the same. “Did you want to talk?”

Derek nodded shyly, joining her on the mattress. He didn’t know why he was so nervous. Maybe it was because he was afraid of the judgement for not finding an upper class heiress to marry and carry on the Hale name. “I have to tell you something,” he said nervously, eyes down towards the floor. Talia caught on to his uneasy state and rested a motherly hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to continue whenever he was ready. “I’ve been seeing someone mom, someone I think I’m totally in love with.”

Talia’s eyes grew wide in surprise, but she didn’t seem angry. Instead, she offered a warm smile and squeezed his shoulder. “Oh honey,” she said lovingly. “Tell me all about them.”

That was the part Derek was nervous for. He didn’t think she’d be angry he was dating, but maybe about _who_ he was dating (if he could even call what him and Stiles were dating yet). 

“Well, it’s a man,” Derek said to specify, but his mother was unaffected. “He’s amazing. He’s funny, kind, loving, athletic, hard-working, and I don’t know...he’s just perfect. I’ve never felt this way with anyone before and it’s so scary but also the most incredible feeling in the world. He’s gorgeous, too. Oh my God mom wait ‘till you _see_ him. His eyes are big and golden and his body is toned from surfing. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted and more and I don’t know how to tell him that.” He wasn’t planning on spilling his heart out and waxing poetic about Stiles, but he couldn’t help it. 

Talia was smiling softly from ear to ear, nothing but love in her eyes. It eased Derek’s nerves when she hugged him again tightly. “Wow,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about someone like that, which means he must be something really special.”

“He is,” Derek replied, grinning as he thought about Stiles and how anxious he was to see him again. Then, he rubbed his hands together nervously as he spilled the next part. “But...he’s also a beach bum. He works at a local surf shop and lives with five people to split the cost, but he’s the most humble, generous person I’ve met. I do love him mom, and I know he’s not your ideal match for me, but I don’t care.”

Derek fully expected her smile to fall, or for his mother to stand up and yell at him. He expected a finger in his face and harsh instructions to leave Stiles and find someone more in their social circle, but that’s not what happened at all. 

Instead, Talia hugged him tighter and kissed the top of his head, her eyes even glassing over a bit. She grabbed Derek’s face in her hands and gave him an excited smile that held so much affection for him. He couldn’t help but mirror her expression, his own eyes watering from her reaction. It honestly felt like coming out again. Derek had sat on this very bed years ago, a pit in his stomach at the fear of what his mother’s reaction would be to hearing he liked boys. She had behaved just like this, though, crying next to him and holding him to her chest with so much acceptance. 

“Derek,” she said softly. “I would never take away someone you love so much. I’m sorry that I made you feel like you can’t be with whoever you want. I think I was so afraid in my brother’s shadow. Peter constantly made me feel like I had to treat every action like it could make or break the hotel, and I projected that onto you and your sisters.”

Every emotion Derek had been holding back came crashing down. The stress, the grief, the sadness, but also the happiness, allowed him to cry to his mother like he used to do as a little boy. His head was in her chest, so he didn’t look up when he heard her door open again, but he knew the presence of his sisters when they joined them on Talia’s bed. There were soon three sets of arms wrapping around Derek.

He filled Cora in quickly about Stiles through his tears, and she was just as excited as Laura and his mom. The family just sat there for five more minutes, enjoying a time they rarely got to spend together until Talia stood up. 

“I love all of you,” she said as she took in her three children on her bed. “But I really have to go.” She leaned down to press a kiss on each forehead, stopping when she got to Derek. “Bring him to the banquet tonight. I can’t wait to meet him.”

Derek nodded, feelings of relief and joy overwhelming every sense. He immediately picked up his phone and hit Stiles’s contact, butterflies erupting in his stomach.

…

Stiles had agreed to the banquet with hesitation, still afraid to be looked down upon by Derek’s social class. Derek assured him, though, that they’d never leave each other’s side. 

Stiles had also asked Derek to come over and pick him up for it, a weird request with the man usually eager to whip his jeep around the beach roads. Now, as the SUV rolled to a stop in front of Stiles’s quaint home, the man ran out of his front door and to the driver’s side. 

“What are you doing?” Derek asked as Stiles practically dragged him out of the car and towards his front porch. 

Stiles smiled brightly and kissed Derek like he was finally getting a fix of a drug after going through withdrawal. “I want you to meet my friends.”

Derek paused, pulling back on Stiles’s hand who was eagerly taking them both towards the door. “Are you sure?” Derek asked, more nerves settling inside of him. “I’ve met Scott and Lydia and...well, they didn’t like me that much.”

“Yes I’m sure. I’m about to meet your family, Derek,” Stiles said. “They just don’t know how great you are yet. Come on.”

They entered through the house that had hosted so much action days before. The roses now sat in the middle of the coffee table in front of the couch, the edges starting to wilt. The home was also messier than when Derek saw it last, signs of a group of people living together. Also different than last time Derek was here was five individuals sitting on the couch staring at him with eyes wide and mouths agape. 

“Stiles,” Lydia said in shock. “When you told me you were introducing us to your new man you forgot to mention he’s... _Derek Hale_.”

A guy Derek had never met was already on his feet and shaking Derek’s hand. “Jackson Whittemore,” he said cockily. “I’ve heard all about you. You know, I work at your hotel. I’d be a great candidate for a higher up position. We should talk sometime-”

“Cut it out Jackson,” Stiles said with an eye roll. Jackson huffed and sat back down. “Guys, this is Derek. Derek, these are my friends. I know you’ve met Scott and Lydia, but now you can really meet them.”

Scott’s face was disapproving, which made Derek feel small and unwelcome. Stiles seemed to immediately notice and glared at his friend. “I don’t want any of you making any assumptions before you even get to know Derek,” he said sternly, not directly pointing out Scott and Lydia but hinting towards them. “I’m with him now, and you’ll see how amazing he is. Derek’s different from the other moneybags we’ve met. He doesn’t care about wealth and reputation, never has with me. Please, I’m asking you guys, as my friends, to be supportive.”

Stiles’s tone was pleading, and it made Scott’s expression soften. The man stood up and walked over to Derek, holding out a hand to greet him. “I’m sorry for how I behaved the first time we met,” Scott said. “If Stiles thinks you’re a great guy, then you must be.” The smile that broke through his tough exterior made Derek grin too, and he clasped their hands together. 

Next, Lydia came up with a guilty look. “Me too,” she said apologetically. “Especially at the bonfire. I was a bitch, a totally huge, judgemental bitch. I’d like to get to know you.” She then got close in his face, her frame petite but her presence still intimidating. “But if you hurt Stiles, I will come after you.” Derek nodded with a gulp, actually believing her threat. Derek met Allison next, who was sweet and caring and definitely someone who welcomed Derek right away with open arms. 

Lastly was Malia. She couldn’t stop looking between Derek and Stiles with sadness in her eyes, and a little bit of anger. She shook his hand, only giving him a quiet, “Nice to meet you”, then retreating to the stairs and disappearing. 

Stiles watched after her sadly, then cleared his throat. “Okay Derek and I have to go, but thank you guys, really.” He hugged all of his friends before grabbing his backpack and taking Derek back out the door. 

They hopped into the car, and Derek kissed Stiles again because all he was craving were the man’s lips. “That was nice,” he said when they separated. “Also, do you have something else to wear?”

It wasn’t that Stiles looked great, but the man was sporting a white tee and blue swim trunks on his way to a banquet. Stiles chuckled and pointed to his backpack. “I can’t say I get invited to many fancy events like this, but I threw what nice clothes I have in here. I was hoping I could change at the hotel?”

Derek nodded and kissed the man again. He was just too obsessed with kissing Stiles, can anyone blame him? When they pulled apart, they were smiling into each other’s mouths, both happy to have each other without a worry in the world. 

When they arrived at the hotel, guests were already pouring into the banqueting hall. Derek caught a glimpse of his mother greeting people near the doors, and his sisters already socializing. That meant their penthouse was empty. 

He eagerly pulled Stiles into the elevator, thanking the heavens above that it was empty. “You can get changed upstairs,” he said. 

Then Derek pinned Stiles against the wall. The surfer let out a surprised groan and dropped his bag onto the ground, allowing his arms to be pressed above his head. Derek dove forward and swept Stiles’s mouth into a demonically passionate kiss. Kissing Stiles was like opening Derek’s soul to allow every color of love to invade his whole being. Their mouths dancing together made nothing else exist in the world besides the two of them. The taste of Stiles on Derek’s tongue could feed him for a thousand years. 

The kiss escalated quickly, faster than the elevator itself. Gravity held them down but Derek’s body felt like it was risin up with the machine. He could never get enough of the man under his touch, his fingers dancing at the hem of Stiles's loose shirt, aching to rip it off.

“Derek,” Stiles’s lips trembled against his mouth, hands running down the length of Derek’s spine. The man was already dressed for the banquet in a dark grey blazer, but it felt unbearingly tight now in the heat of the enclosed elevator. 

The ding to signal them arriving at their floor made them jump apart, and Derek wasted no time in dragging Stiles down the hallway and into his penthouse. As soon as the door was closed behind them they were on each other again. Derek backed Stiles up into a table, nearly knocking over an expensive-looking vase. They breathed in each other, mouths only separating momentarily to strip off clothes on their way to Derek’s room. 

“What about the banquet?” Stiles questioned as Derek’s mouth moved to his neck. The man inhaled sharply when Derek bit down, most likely leaving a hickey that he’d have to cover later. 

Derek’s response was to trail his mouth down to the top of Stiles’s chests, sucking and kissing to mark his territory. “It can wait,” he growled. 

Stiles was moaning and falling apart underneath him, and boy was it a sight to see. He was breathing heavily and running his hands over Derek’s skin, silently pleading for more. “Fuck me,” Stiles cried out, and it was just supposed to be a curse to the ceiling, but it made Derek’s eyes grow dark as he took in the man in front of him, heat growing in his stomach. 

“If you insist,” he smirked, and it made Stiles pounce on him, throwing both of them down onto the mattress.

…

Cora knew exactly what Derek had been up to when he stumbled through the banquet hall doors, face flushed and dress shirt untucked. She ran up to him and quickly fixed his appearance with a knowing look. “Right before this? You’re taking after me,” she teased, then turned to Stiles. “Wait...you’re the guy from the surf shop! Stiles, right?”

Stiles shrugged. “Guilty,” he said, adjusting the blue tie around his neck. “Sorry I couldn’t exactly reveal who I was at the time.”

“No worries,” she said with a shit-eating grin as she glanced between them. “You have a little something.” Cora motioned to her neck, and Stiles immediately pressed a hand against his own. Derek looked to see a dark hickey starting to show right underneath the collar of his shirt. He reached over and pulled it up a bit to help Stiles, then pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “God, you’re already disgustingly adorable together.”

Derek laughed and ruffled his little sister’s hair. “Thanks sis,” he said, then him and Stiles went to visit his mother next. “Mom?” He tapped on her shoulder. Talia turned away from where she was waiting for her glass of white wine to be refilled. “This is Stiles.”

Stiles immediately stood up tall and proper, holding out a hand to greet the hotel owner. “Mrs. Hale, it’s so nice to meet you ma’am.”

The woman set down her glass and ignored the outstretched hand, instead pulling Stiles in close for a loving hug. It took the man by surprise, but he relaxed into the touch and hugged her back. “Stiles,” she said. “The pleasure is all mine, and please, call me Talia. I’m so happy Derek is finally introducing me to you. I hope you enjoy the banquet tonight.”

“Yes ma’am-Talia ma’am I mean,” he stuttered. “Thank you. I sure am so far.” Derek threaded their fingers together, noticing how his mother’s smile only grew wider. 

Once the woman walked away, Derek led Stiles over to the dance floor. A slower song was playing, and he put his hands on the man’s waist. Stiles’s own arms came to loop around Derek’s neck, and he rested his head on his shoulder. They were getting glimpses and stares. Any new news of who Derek Hale was dating was always a big topic of conversation at hotel events. Some cameras came out, but he didn’t care. Derek wanted the world to know that he was smitten with the most amazing man he had ever met. 

“Derek, who’s your friend?” Rebecca appeared next to them, a new guy on her hip. Marcus seemed to be long gone. Her face was smiling but her tone of voice oozed envy. 

The men stopped dancing, but Derek didn’t take his hands off of Stiles’s waist. “This is my boyfriend, Rebecca,” he said without thinking. 

She let out a huff and crossed her arms, the stranger behind her nosing into her neck, clearly already intoxicated. “You’re _gay_?” she spat out, as if she had been betrayed. 

“I’m bisexual,” Derek said, not interested in having to explain himself. “And very taken, so you can go entertain your new boytoy elsewhere.” Stiles snorted into Derek’s neck, unable to disguise his laugh. 

Rebecca stomped a foot and spun around, dragging her arm candy off of the dance floor. Derek didn’t watch her go, instead turning back to Stiles who was already staring at him intensely. “Boyfriend?” Stiles asked in a quiet voice. 

Derek kissed Stiles’s forehead, then his cheek, then finally his mouth. His lips left a blush wherever they landed. “If you want to be,” he said hopefully. 

The reaction that was returned was everything Derek hoped for. Stiles hugged him tightly, nothing but pure happiness pouring out of him. “Are you kidding me Hale? Ever since I met you.”

They danced to the music all night, only stopping to enjoy a meal together from the buffet table. Stiles raved about the big banquet hall and the fancy china they were eating off of. Derek introduced him to more hotel people, they chatted more with his sisters and friends, and just enjoyed each other’s company. 

At the end of the night, Talia came up to her son again, smiling sweetly at Stiles. “Derek, may I have a word?” 

Derek looked at Stiles, who motioned for him to go ahead. “Yes,” he responded and followed his mother outside onto the deck. The party was clearing out and few guests remained. No one paid the Hales any attention as they stood and looked at the moonlight over the ocean ahead. 

“I wanted to discuss something with you,” his mom said, voice actually wavering in a way he had never heard it before. “You were set to take over the hotel from me with Peter. Now that your uncle is gone, and your grandfather’s will has been discovered, I have decided to offer you full ownership of the Lunar Coast, but it is now your choice. After Laura goes to Harvard for law school, Cora and I are moving into Beverly Hills. This will be your home.”

If Talia had offered her son the hotel a month ago, he would’ve straight up declined. Now, though, Derek realizes that it would’ve been an answer in spite of the world his mother and uncle had forced him into. Now, Derek stared up at the building behind him. The majestic architecture of his home stood out against the dark sky. He could make out his bedroom balcony from where he was. This hotel was his legacy, not just his reputation. It was decades of hard work by his grandfather, his mom and dad, and even Peter. He couldn’t imagine a Hale not running it.

“I’d love to,” Derek responded genuinely. “But you don’t have to move out of your home mom.”

Talia scoffed and waved a hand. “Please,” she laughed. “I’ve been ready for something new for a long time. Cora is all for it too. Plus, I think it’s about time my 26 and 24 year-olds don’t live with their mother anymore. The penthouse will be your home, and hey, maybe even Stiles’s one day.”

Derek chuckled as his mom poked him teasingly, but he couldn’t deny he had the same thoughts. There was still a long way to go with Stiles. They had just gotten together, but already shared so much history. Derek was eager to see what the next step was in their relationship, and maybe in a year, invite the man to move in. 

“Thank you mom,” he said and hugged the woman. “I won’t let you down.”

She kissed her son’s cheek. “I know, Der. I know.”

After their conversation, Derek rejoined Stiles to find him chatting with Cora. His sister had an excited, but devious smile on her face as she talked animatedly. “What’s going on?” he questioned and slid into Stiles’s side, greeting his _boyfriend_ with a kiss. 

“Um,” Stiles said awkwardly. “Your sister has something to tell you.”

Cora had a guilty look on her face. “Okay before you get mad Der Bear, I planned this before I knew you two were together! And Stiles’s friend basically came up with the idea!” She didn’t say anything else, just gave her phone to her brother. 

Derek grabbed it nervously and stared down at the screen. “Cora…” he said. “What did you do?”

There in his hand was an electronic flyer for an upcoming event in a couple weeks, a surf-off between Derek and Stiles. The flyer read: _Malibu’s best finally take to the waves to find out who’s really number one. Place your bets at this ultimate Moneybags vs. Beach Bum competition happening at Surfrider Beach July 26th._

“You pitted us _against_ each other?!” Derek exclaimed. He was slowly working on getting back into surfing, and now he had a competition to prepare for already against his own boyfriend. 

Cora held up her hands in defense, looking genuinely sorry. “I didn’t think much of it, okay?” she fought back. “I’m sorry! But I kind of already have hundreds of responses of people eager to come watch sooo it’d be really great if you could maybe still do it?” She sent him puppy dog eyes that made Derek sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose. 

“I don’t know Hale,” Stiles said and pulled Derek in by the waist. “Could be fun. I can finally show you up in front of the whole town.”

That triggered Derek’s competitive bone, and he swooped in to kiss Stiles long and hard. “Oh really? I see how it is Stilinski,” he challenged. “Fine, it’s on.”


	15. Chapter 15

“Welcome ladies and gentlemen to today’s event here on Surfrider Beach in beautiful Malibu, California. Today we have two of our very own, local surfer Stiles Stilinski and Lunar Coast owner Derek Hale, going head to head in the ultimate showdown to see who really rules the water.”

Isaac’s voice rang through the speakers lining Surfrider Beach and Derek looked at the shore from his place in the ocean. Cora had really done a good job organizing the event. Isaac was the announcer, seated on a platform under a tent so that he can see the ocean over the heads of hundreds of spectators. Paparazzi had joined too after hearing about the Hale family being involved. Next to Isaac were the judges: Old Man Rick and two other old surfing locals whose names are known around town. It truly looked like a professional surf comp with flags and speakers and everyone either sitting or standing on the beach, anxiously looking out towards the competitors. 

“Are you ready for this?” Stiles asked from his place on his surfboard next to Derek. They had paddled out a bit ago, now just sitting calmly past the impact zone to prepare themselves for what was about to happen. The day was beautiful with cloudless skies and a bright sun that lit up the blue water. Derek thought Stiles looked more beautiful, though, sporting a red lycra and his wet hair clinging adorably to his head. Derek was wearing his own black lycra, to which his boyfriend had complimented the way it made his abs and biceps look earlier. 

He leaned over to kiss Stiles, not caring who from the shore was watching or taking pictures for the media. “Yeah,” he said truthfully. “I am.” Derek had been out surfing a lot more since finding out about the competition. He had managed to pull out a few of his old tricks too, and now there was a small thought in the back of his mind that he actually could have a chance at winning this. “But before your feelings get hurt, I show no mercy on the water, even to my boyfriend.”

Stiles splashed him a bit with a laugh. “Before _my_ feelings get hurt? Oh please Hale, I think one of us is leaving this water in tears and it’s not me.”

“We’re expecting a great competition day,” Isaac’s loud voice continued. “These two are the top amateur talent in Malibu. Let’s hear it one last time for our competitors: Derek and Stiles!” The audience erupted into applause, some pumping their fists and others jumping up and down. It filled Derek with a warmth for his community. He could make out his mom, sisters, Erica, and Boyd sitting all together with Stiles’s friend group close by. Everyone looked ecstatic to see the two men out in the ocean. “Our competition will begin in 60 seconds. Each surfer has the opportunity to catch three waves. Their scores for each will be determined by our panel of judges here and the two best waves will be scored to find a winner.”

Derek couldn’t lie and say he was feeling nervous. Yeah, he was comfortable on a board again, but now hundreds of people, some he didn’t even know, were watching him closely. Stiles seemed to notice his unease and squeezed Derek’s hand. 

“Hey,” he said calmly. “You’ve got this.” 

Derek offered him a small smile back, feeling slightly better. This whole experience, though, the feeling of a crowd watching him from the sand, made him think of his dad. 

_”Are you ready son?”_

_Derek shook his head rapidly, a panic growing in his chest as he looked out towards the water where the first heat was competing. He was up next against four other boys and scared out of his mind. This was regionals, and he had to place in order to move on._

_Matthew wrapped his son in a hug, then stared into his eyes seriously. “It’s okay to be nervous,” he said. “But we’ve been training you for this everyday. If you pull out what you’ve shown, you’re a shoo-in for first. I want you to go out there and paddle like your life depends on it. You don’t let anyone take your wave, okay? You rip into that water harder and faster than you ever have before. You’re a powerhouse.”_

_”I’m a powerhouse,” Derek repeated, slowly calming down at the man’s fatherly touch. Matthew hugged him again, a proud smile on his face._

_”Yes you are. Now get out there and surf your heart out.”_

And that was exactly what Derek was going to do. This wasn’t a real competition, but it mirrored the excitement he had experienced when he was in a heat, watching his father cheer him on from the shoreline. 

“Let our competition commence!”

He snapped out of his nostalgic state and right into surfing mode. Stiles was already paddling fast, a huge wave rising behind him. Derek let him have it, instead opting to watch the man dance across the water like he had been doing it for hundreds of years. 

“Red is up on his first wave!” Isaac announced. “Stilinski kicks it off with a very nice ride, and a strong carve off the top.” Stiles moved his board up and down, cutting it back occasionally and spraying water up as the wave propelled him forward. “He definitely knows what the judges are looking for. That will be a solid wave for red.” 

Stiles finished his ride, the crowd and Derek combined cheering him on. He paddled back over to the outside of Derek, a tired smile on his face. “You aren’t supposed to cheer on your competitor,” Stiles said teasingly. 

Derek shrugged and looked back, another wave approaching. “Call it pity applause,” he said with a wink as he dropped onto his stomach and started paddling. _Paddle like your life depends on it._ Matthew’s words echoed in his ears and they made Derek feel stronger. He dug his hands into the ocean, pulling the water back to push forward. Once he felt the board beneath him start to lift, Derek pushed himself up onto his feet with ease, catching his balance before expertly riding the wave. 

“We have black up and moving!” Isaac said. “Big snap off the top. He draws out his second bottom turn, and hooks it one more time. Derek Hale is holding nothing back today ladies and gentlemen.” 

Derek beamed as he maneuvered his board across the water, dancing across the top and bottom of the wave before it faded out and he dove into the ocean. Once his head resurfaced, he could hear his family’s loud voices saying his name from the crowd. They were standing and jumping, and it only motivated him to do even better. 

“Wow,” Stiles said once Derek rejoined him. “Where was that a couple weeks ago? I think you might just actually give me a run for my money.” It was Derek’s turn to splash him now, but he couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face. 

Both of their second waves went just as well, Stiles only tenths of points ahead of Derek when the time came for their last wave. Stiles went first, waiting for the perfect swell to roll up behind him. He paddled hard, popping up in time to dive right into carving the water perfectly. The crowd went wild when Stiles pulled out an aerial turn, landing back onto the wave smoothly and going right into hitting a vertical flip off the top. It was surely his top wave of the day, a fifteen second ride feeling like it lasted fifteen minutes. 

“What a wave for Stilinski!” said Isaac, surprise even in his voice. “Hale is going to have to score a 9.6 at least on his next wave if he wants to win this competition.”

Derek was madly in love with Stiles. He was deeply enamored with the man he was competing against and wanted to scream it from the rooftops. Right now, though, all he could think about was grabbing his last wave. Derek turned around to see a big one starting to rise behind him, so he paddled. Right now, the only thought in his mind was to make his father proud and surf this wave for him. 

“And black is up on his last ride!”

Isaac’s voice was only an echo in Derek’s ears. Instead, the loud rush of moving water around him filled his mind. He felt one with the surfboard beneath him, letting it do its magic of ripping across the wave. The swell was massive, bigger than any wave either of them had caught that day. Derek let one of his hands skim the curved water next to him as he hit a roundhouse cutback into an off-the lip. He was flying through the ride, an indescribable feeling filling him up inside. 

Derek finished his ride by hitting the move he was always known for in competitions. He hadn’t tried it out since getting back on the board, but it used to come as second nature to him. Now, Derek gained speed to prepare, bending his knees up and down for momentum. 

“I think he’s going to try to hit an air reverse!” Isaac cheered. 

Derek’s board came completely out of the water as he rotated midair 270 degrees. He landed back down with his tail forwards and quickly whipped the board back around to a normal stance. The crowd erupted as he hit the water and the wave ended. Stiles quickly paddled over to him, a gobsmacked expression on his face. 

“Holy shit,” Stiles breathed out, just as surprised as his boyfriend. Derek laughed in shock and slowly came down from his high. He really just did that. 

The two men paddled back to shore, immediately surrounded by friends, family, and strangers high fiving them and applauding. The paparazzi tried to aim their cameras over heads to snap pictures of the couple. 

“What the hell Derek?!” Erica exclaimed and punched her best friend playfully. “I didn’t know you could do _that_!”

Scott grabbed Stiles into a headlock and rustled his hair. “You did amazing bro!” he yelled then turned to look at Derek too. “Both of you.”

Cora walked up to the pair, a smug look in her eye as she crossed her arms. “Please, I’ll accept gifts later for my beautiful work in organizing this event.”

Derek rolled his eyes and ran at his sister, scooping her up into a hug that made her squeal. He moved on to hug Laura next, then his mother. Talia was overwhelmingly proud as she kissed her son’s forehead. “Your father would’ve loved to be here and would’ve been so proud.”

Derek’s breath hitched for a second and he smiled sadly. “He is here,” he said and stared down at the board in his hand. It had been Matthew’s, a sleek teal and white with faded writing on it that said Hale. Derek had chosen it with hesitation, but being out there with it helped. That last wave felt like his father was pushing him forward, giving him the wings he needed to soar to his highest potential. 

Stiles attacked Derek with a hug next, both of them dropping their boards as they melted into each other. The onlookers around them either cooed or just looked confused, not knowing the competitors were romantically involved. 

“As you can see, we had a real lover’s quarrel out there today,” Isaac said through the speakers. Derek looked over to see the man giving him a wink and a wave. “But the judges have finished tallying up the scores from today’s competition.”

Everyone gathered around a makeshift stage on the sand. Stiles and Derek stood up on it, gripping each other’s hands as Isaac joined them with the microphone in hand. 

“You both rode great today gentlemen,” said the curly-haired man. “The judges wanted me to say that the scores were unsurprisingly close, but one of you won by 0.2 points. The winner of the competition today is…” he drew it out for dramatic flare, “...Stiles Stilinski with a fantastic average score of 9.3!”

Everyone hollered Stiles’s name, the man’s face dropping in surprise as Isaac handed him a cheap trophy Cora had picked up from the party store. Derek felt no sadness at not winning, for he was going against the greatest amateur surfer he had ever seen. Instead, he wrapped Stiles in his arms and dipped him down, pressing a long kiss to his lips that had the crowd wolf whistling and cheering even louder. 

They separated and both wore the dopiest grins. “I knew you’d win,” Derek said with no envy behind his words. “You were amazing.”

“We were amazing,” Stiles said and kissed his boyfriend again. He had both of them hold the trophy above their heads. While Stiles looked out to smile for pictures, Derek only paid attention to his lover. He stared longingly at his bright smile, the light moles dotting his cheeks, and his golden eyes that sparkled in the sun. What had this man done to him? Derek just knew Stiles was the one. He had never felt happier, safer, and more loved than when they were together. 

…

After the craziness from the day’s festivities died down, Derek found himself sitting on the beach that night. The sun was setting, so a little bit of light still lit up the water. Stiles was next to him, head on his shoulder and hand in his. A group of kids playing in the sand were the closest people to them while still being hundreds of feet away.

Stiles’s free hand was drawing into the sand with a stick. He completed a heart and wrote _D + S_ inside like they were two teenagers in high school again. 

“Sap,” Derek teased, which made Stiles only stick his tongue out and outline the heart in another heart. 

“You love it,” he scoffed, staring up at Derek lovingly.

Derek lightly rested a hand on Stiles’s cheek and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “I do,” he said, butterflies erupting in his stomach. “I love you.”

He had wanted to say it for so long, and no moment seemed more perfect than now. After everything they had been through, Derek was sure of his feelings. And if Stiles could stick around after literally having a gun to his head by Derek’s crazy uncle, then maybe he felt the same way too. 

Stiles’s breath caught in his throat and he stared into Derek’s eyes. His mouth was slightly open, his palm growing sweaty in Derek’s hand. 

“I love you too,” Stiles finally responded, so much emotion behind his voice. That was all it took for Derek to smash their mouth together again in a passionate kiss. They breathed each other in as their lips danced together. Every time he kissed Stiles, it felt like Derek’s first time. Every kiss sent fire through his body that felt amazing as it struck every nerve. They pulled apart and pressed their foreheads together, both smiling from ear to ear. 

Derek moved to put his arm around Stiles’s shoulders, pulling the man as close as humanly possible against his side. They stared out into the ocean again, the sky growing darker above them as waves crashed along the shore. 

“Who knew I’d end up with moneybags Derek Hale?” Stiles said with a chuckle. 

“And I’d end up with the beach bum Stiles Stilinski,” Derek respondes fondly. “We’re like modern day Romeo and Juliet.”

“You do know how Romeo and Juliet ends, right?” Stiles asked, expression concerned. 

“Uhh,” Derek started, trying to pull out his knowledge from freshman year english class. “Happily ever after?”

Stiles sighed and pressed a kiss to Derek’s lips. “Oh boy,” he said with a laugh. “We can be Romeo and Juliet before Act 5.”

Derek just shrugged. “Never got that far.”

They sat in silence a bit longer and enjoyed the noises of their hometown around them. Derek could picture himself on this beach in ten years, Stiles still next to him hopefully wearing a ring on his left hand. Derek would be balancing his own child on a surfboard, starting them as early as possible. With two surfer parents, it’d be impossible to get out of growing up following the same sport. 

The fact that such domestic thoughts came so easily to Derek truly told him this was real. He truly loved the man next to him. As a 24 year-old business owner now, he wasn’t looking for a casual summer fling. He wanted this to be real, and by the way Stiles was cuddling in close and staring up at him with pure love in his eyes, he’s pretty sure Stiles did too. 

“So now that I’m dating a rich and powerful resort owner, am I still considered a beach bum?” Stiles broke the silence and pondered with a laugh. 

“Hm,” Derek said and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He smiled devilishly down at the man he loved. “I don’t know about the beach part, but definitely still a bum.”

Stiles gaped and leaned back to stare at Derek with fake hurt on his face. “How dare you Hale,” he said and held a hand up to his heart. Stiles took a handful of sand and threw it at Derek’s chest.

“You didn’t,” Derek said in shock. Stiles was immediately on his feet when Derek started grabbing his own sand to retaliate. “Come back here Stilinski!”

They laughed and hollered as the day came to an end, chasing each other back and forth along the beach, splashing in the water a bit too. Derek’s 24 year-old self was sent back to feeling like a child, but he finally felt free. Free of the rigid social structure, of his uncle’s expectations, of being afraid to show who he truly was to the media, and of the grief that had locked him down for so long. Now Derek was free to love the man he was running after with his whole heart, and you can damn well bet he was going to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! Phew, this story has been a journey for me and thank you to everyone who has followed along with me. Can’t say it did as well as I had hoped, but I am just happy to get my creativity out there and share what goes on in my mind with you all.
> 
> Truly thank you to anyone who had commented, left kudos, bookmarked, or just read the story. If you enjoyed it, I’d love to hear below what you liked!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, questions, and feedback are greatly appreciated.


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